Switching Places
by Child of Two Worlds
Summary: In an attempt to save his world Harry is thrown into another. Now, how will the other Harry deal with the reality ours left behind?
1. Chapter One

**Switching Places**  
By Child of Two Worlds  
  
_A/N_ - This is based on those stories where Harry meets his parents in another reality, except it's the other way around. Thank you to Sets for beta reading my story.   
  
_Fired_ – slang word used to describe being contacted through the fireplace. (Remember the scene where Harry was talking to Sirius' head, floating in the flames, in the fireplace of the Griffindor Common Room?) It's different from using Floo powder because you do not go to the other person's house, you just stick your head in their fire. Using the Floo system is called Flooing…I guess. ^.^   
  
/_italics_/ ~or~ /**bold**/ = emphasis   
  
*_thinking_* = thoughts   
  
_Italicized_ text without either of those marks are Parseltoungue and spells.   
  


* * *

  
  
To him, it was like walking through hundreds of screaming Dementors. The glacial winds tore down the stone passage, whipping the cloak around his legs and almost tripping him. Nearly invisible in the murky shadows of the gothic hall, the youth walked purposefully down the center of the corridor. There were no lights and no sounds except for the howl of the wind in the cold castle.   


Finally the youth reached the ornate double doors. He stared at the twirling snakes that formed the door handle. The metallic serpentine bodies wove around the each other with jewels glittering in their eye sockets. They almost looked like they could crawl off the door and onto the floor. He continued to ignore his throbbing headache, he knew what was ahead of him.   


"_Open_," he hissed in the language of the snakes.   


Instantly the doors complied and opened into the room. This opulent room was much warmer than the bleak hall, the light of the fire set the shadows dancing on the tapestries lining the walls. There was a large, red wingback chair in front of the white marble hearth. A humongous snake lay wound around itself in great coils on the dark green rug.   


"_Master_!" cried the snake after watching the boy enter the room.   


Stepping out of the shadows Voldemort replied, "_I know, Nagini. I know._" Then he added, addressing the intruder, "Harry Potter," Voldemort spat out the name, "You dare come to my home uninvited?"   


"I thought I was always a welcomed guest," Harry replied with more bravery than he felt he had.   


"_For dinner_," hissed the snake, "_to be dinner_."   


"_Hush, Nagini_," Voldemort spoke soothingly to the serpent.   


Harry raised his wand, "I'm not here to exchange pleasantries."   


"You want to duel?" he smirked, wand already in hand.   


"Whatever," the pain in his head was so great that Harry was felt reckless. The scar connecting him to Voldemort relayed all of Voldemort's anger into him. Harry was used to the constant sting by now, but being this close to Voldemort made his whole body ache.   


"_Crucio_!" Voldemort cried.   


Harry had been expecting this. He kept his distance far enough that he would have time to react to any spells. Nimbly he jumped to the side and called out his own spell, "_Petrificus Totalus_!"   


Voldemort wasn't as quick as Harry and was hit partially by the curse. Another petrification curse sent him to the floor with a loud thud. Harry blanketed Voldemort with paralyzing curses as he slowly advanced, the throbbing in his head increasing with every step he took towards Voldemort. The Dark Lord wasn't completely motionless (he' too powerful) and was able to wobble a tiny bit.   


"_Nagini_!" Voldemort managed to hiss out.   


"_Master_!" the snake slithered over to the two men.   


Harry froze as the snake advanced. He watched her come within striking distance before he transfigured her into a suitcase. Breathing heavily Harry turned back to Voldemort who was looking up at Harry with pure hatred.   


Harry looked back down at the fallen man with equal animosity in his eyes. This…thing…that had caused so much pain was finally going to be gone. Harry wove his wand in a complex pattern above Voldemort's head. When satisfied with the form of the swirling colors he began to work his way down the length of Voldemort's body.   


Hermione had found a reference to this spell in the Restricted Section, but she had only found the theory. Hermione gave up on the spell as experimental when she couldn't find any more information /_anywhere_/. Not in the library, nor from the teachers. Not even Remus Lupin knew of such a spell or where to get information on it. Harry, however, could not give up his search, the theory was too spectacular. Eventually he worked up the courage to ask the Headmaster about the spell. Of course, Dumbledore knew all about it and gave Harry books explaining it further (after Harry had convinced him to lend out the books. He had to promise not to share the information with anyone). The spell itself would send a person to another dimension, in theory. Those who had supposedly completed the spell never returned. This was a promising fact for Harry.   


It was only through obsessive determination that was he able to master the spell in three months…well the theory of the spell. He hadn't actually tested it to its fullest potential. The spell required precise wand movements in an extremely complex pattern. Harry had practiced the individual parts of the charm, but not the whole thing at once.   


It was tiring to perform the whole spell (especially with a royally pissed off Voldemort at his feet making it much harder), but he had to work his way back to Voldemort's chest. Harry stood over the man's head as he poked the sparkles in preparation for the final piece of the charm. As he spoke the final word Voldemort's arm shot up and his wand struck Harry's. The doorway had already been opened, Voldemort was slipping away, but the wands exploded with energy and light. Harry and Voldemort were ripped apart from each other, hands glued to their wands.   


The blinding light that engulfed Harry's body and the phoenix song that overwhelmed his senses was suddenly replaced by darkness and Harry knew no more.   


---*---

  


It had been three days since the disappearance of Harry Potter. No one knew where he was or even if he was alive. The whole of the wizarding world buzzed with rumors and theories of where the famous Boy Who Lived could be.   


Severus Snape was not among the curious throngs speculating on the adolescent's whereabouts. He did not know where the boy was, but he knew that something was amiss with the Dark Lord. The mark on his arm, a skull with a snake protruding from the mouth, had not burned once in four days. Voldemort would have at least been curious about the boy if he did not take him. If Voldemort had captured Potter, Snape certainly would have known about it…he hoped. Snape did not know about Harry leaving the safety of the castle in the early morning hours, nor did he know for certain that the Dark Lord was gone. He was not high enough in the ranks to know what Voldemort was up to on a day-to-day basis. He had a feeling, however, that Dumbledore knew something about the disappearances, but wasn't talking.   


---*---

  


Sirius Black, in the form of Padfoot, had not moved from the floor in front of the fireplace since breakfast. It was part of his new routine: get up, eat, lay in front of the fire, endure comments from Remus, sleep, and repeat. Ever since Dumbledore fired them with the news that Harry had disappeared, supposedly fighting the Dark Lord, Sirius had done nothing but mope around the house.   


Ever collected Remus, on the other hand, kept up with the everyday business. He continued his life as best he could, but he began reading more in the evenings. Remus felt that he didn't have the option to grieve when they had so little information to go on. Glancing at Padfoot on the floor, Remus thought that Sirius didn't care whether or not it was appropriate to be depressed now, he was going to be gloomy anyway. This was one of the worst Christmases ever. The worst had been December 25, 1981. The first Christmas after James and Lily died.   


A knock on the door tore him away from his memories.   


"Don't worry, I'll get up," Remus told Padfoot.   


The dog didn't even respond.   


"Uncle Remus! Uncle Sirius!" called a voice before he reached the door. *_Harry_?* Remus thought as moved his wand to a more accessible position and opened the door.   


"Harry?" Remus' voice was barely above a whisper. All he could do was stare at the boy in front of him. Harry was taller than when Remus last saw him, his hair was shorter too, new glasses that were oblong with thin gold frames. He was wearing a dark green cloak that was certainly not part of the Hogwarts uniform. Was this Harry?   


"Uncle Remus?" Harry looked back at him in mock awe, imitating Remus' expression and tone.   


Remus couldn't retrain himself any longer, he threw his arms around the boy, "You're alive!" he whispered in a grateful tone, "You're alive!"   


"Err…yeah, Uncle Remus," Harry patted Remus' back, "but I don't know how much longer I will be because you're crushing me."   


Remus straightened up immediately, his composure back, "Where have you been?"   


"With my family," Harry corrected himself, "was with my family. I seem to have lost track of them," Harry searched Remus's face. It was then he saw Sirius, back in human form, standing a few feet behind Remus looking shocked.   


"Hey! Uncle Padfoot!" Harry called over to older man with a smile and an energetic wave.   


Sirius was only able to mouth out the words, "Harry?"   


Harry grinned, "You okay Pookie?" His mischievous grin faltered when Sirius didn't reply. "What? No Prongs Jr. jokes? No, 'hello Pronglet?' " Harry looked utterly perplexed, a pout playing across his face.   


Sirius' lip quirked at "Pronglet", but he remained where he was, staring at the boy in the doorway.   


"Come inside, Harry," Remus instructed urgently.   


Although he was still confused, Harry followed Remus inside. "What's the matter with you two?" he asked after the door was closed. Then he turned to Sirius for answers, "First Uncle Remus breaks down on me, then you look like you were hit with a body bind and a hallucination hex!" he exclaimed, exasperated.   


Sirius advanced on Harry with open arms "Harry," he whispered.   


Harry backed away, "Uncle Sirius," he pleaded, "Not funny, no pranks." Harry looked at Remus, "Come on guys, let me in on the joke." Harry expected Remus to grin and Sirius to start laughing at any moment, but they were still grim.   


Sirius embraced Harry tightly, "Don't /_ever_/ do that again! I was /_so_/ worried!" he choked.   


Harry hugged Sirius back, "Worried about what? Has something happened?"   


Sirius looked at Harry's worried face, gold rimmed glasses pushed up so far on his face his lashes nearly brushed against the lenses, the messy short hair, no scar marking his fore head.   


The change of expression was so quick that Harry didn't quite register it. It was not a reassuring grin, but a suspicious glare. Before he could react Sirius pushed him onto the couch.   


"Who are you?!" Sirius barked.   


"Huh?" Harry's hand rose to reset the glasses on his face.   


Sirius grabbed his wrist before his hand touched the frames, "Who. Are. You?" He snarled.   


Harry looked fearfully at his godfather. Something wasn't right here. His godfather had a haunted look he had never seen before, his hair hung limply around his face instead of being in the ponytail Harry was used to seeing. His robes were worn and patched. What happened to the leather? Harry glanced to Remus. Remus looked worried…and tired? Everything in the cottage looked old or at least used and the Christmas decorations hung limply as if distraught. This was not the cottage he knew.   


"What's going on?" Harry asked, wide eyed, "Uncle Sirius," he looked to the other man, "Uncle Remus?"   


"I should have known," Sirius growled, "Harry never called us 'Uncle' anything. You make a bad imitator, kid. Harry's picture is plastered in every newspaper from here to Japan and you have so many things wrong with your appearance." Sirius had a twisted grin on his face, "You'd think you Death Eaters could at least remember the scar on his forehead. You'd think-"   


"Sirius," Remus interrupted.   


"What?" Sirius snapped, not taking his eyes off Harry.   


"We should question him before you berate him anymore."   


Harry gave Remus a thankful smile, but Remus didn't return it. 


	2. Chapter Two

**Switching Places**   
by Child of Two Worlds   
  
**Disclaimer** - Not mine and probably not yours either...unless you're JK Rowling or Wanner Brothers or someone who actually owns in. In that case it is yours. But still, it is not mine.   
  
_A/N_ - If anyone wants to be emailed about new chapters please leave your email adress in your review. DF Miei requested it and I have no problem with it. It'll be one mass email. Please drop a note about any html or gramatical errors. Plot errors were probably put in there on purpose. ::wink:: Thank you Sets for beta reading and having patience when I had none. ^.^   
  
*thought* = thoughts   
/_italics_/ -or- /**bold**/ = emphasis   
  
_Italicized_ text without either of those marks are Parseltongue and spells.   
  


* * *

  
  
It was like a photograph: frozen, crisp and motionless, even though it was only milliseconds long. There was Harry sitting on the couch, confused and worried. Sirius' tight grasp on his wrist was preventing the blood from reaching his fingertips. Off to the side of the odd couple was Remus: cool, calm, collected, and slightly peeved.   


"We should question him before you berate him anymore," Remus spoke his professor voice, the one used when introducing a new topic to his class.   


"Sorry, Moony. I won't trust anything less than Veritaserum," growled Sirius.   


"I regret to inform you of this but, we're all out," Remus replied lightly.   


"Don't joke around Remus, this is serious."   


Harry wanted to say 'I'm Harry, /_you're_/ Sirius,' but decided to ignore the obvious play on words and ask a more important question, "Does Uncle Peter know about this?" Harry demanded.   


That was the wrong thing to say. Sirius' grip on Harry's wrist became painful and a strange glimmer came into his eyes.   


Harry winced "Ouch!" He turned his wrist in an attempt to get out of Sirius' grasp.   


"Don't hurt him!" exclaimed Remus.   


Sirius's grip slackened and he put his face just inches away from Harry's, "What did you say?" his voice was a dangerous whisper.   


Harry glared right back at his godfather. "Ouch. O – U – C – H."   


"Don't play games. What did you say before that," Sirius growled.   


"Oh," Harry smirked in answer to Sirius' scowl, "I /_asked_/ whether or not Uncle Peter knows about this." But Harry was tired of playing, "This joke is old. Ancient. Extinct. Stop trying to scare me because it's not going to work."   


Sirius continued to subject Harry to his suspicious glare. When he realized that his fury would not break the boy, Sirius returned to his original tactic of finding out his identity. "Who. Are. You?" Sirius demanded again, speaking slowly and clearly.   


"Harold. James. Evans-Potter. Who are you?" Harry answered back, baiting Sirius to try and scare him again.   


A twisted grin played across Sirius' face, but before he could say anything Remus spoke.   


"I'm going to write to Dumbledore. There is more to this than we think," Remus spoke to Sirius in a commanding tone. "Watch him," turning to leave the room he added, "don't hurt him."   


Sirius glared at Remus but didn't say anything.   


"I'll be back in a few minutes," with that Remus left the room.   


Sirius let go of Harry's hand and sat back into a nearby chair. However, he never took his eyes off Harry, nor did Harry remove his gaze from his godfather. A staring match ensued.   


Harry yawned as he rubbed his wrist. *_This game is getting old,_* he thought, *_Whatever they're up to has to be good. I'm not about to be fooled by this act. Uncle Remus must be writing to my dad now._*   


Sirius continued to scowl at Harry. Harry didn't believe the hatred that was in his godfather's eyes, those eyes had tricked him so many times. One minute they gleamed with unshed tears, the next they would sparkle with mirth. He was not going to be fooled by his behavior.   


But it had gone on much longer than a normal prank would, even for Sirius. Doubt entered Harry's mind. What if he had done something bad? Surely the dungbombs in the bathroom couldn't get anyone this mad. *_If Uncle Sirius is really angry with me there's no way we're playing apparition tag now._* Harry crossed his arms and leaned futher back into the cushions, *_Hrmp. Good thing I couldn't find my animagus notes. He'd probably think I was trying to do that illegally._* Harry couldn't help suppress a snigger at that thought.   


Sirius picked up on it immediately. "What's so funny?" he demanded.   


"Nothing," Harry placated.   


Sirius glowered at the boy, "You sniggered. Why?"   


"I didn't bring my animagus notes with me," Harry replied, returning scowl for scowl, "It was a good thing because you'd probably think I was an unregistered animagus and threaten to owl the ministry." Harry watched for a change in expression that never came. "But /_you_/ are an illegal animagus."   


Sirius did a good job of keeping his face neutral…for Sirius. A look of surprise fleeted across his face before the scowl deepened. His suspicion of the boy on the couch increased. *_How in high heaven did he know /**that**/?!_*   


"I thought it was ironic," Harry finished lamely. This act was getting to him. *_Maybe,_* he thought, *_Maybe if I just shut-up and be good they'll stop, say they fooled me good, and we can-_*   


Harry's thoughts were cut short by Remus, "I wrote to Dumbledore," he announced.   


"Good," growled Sirius.   


"I told him to contact us through the fire as soon as he can," Remus crossed his arms, "It's not like we're going anywhere."   


Harry sunk even further into the cushions. *_I'm stuck here until Dad shows up._* He looked at Remus who stood a few feet away with his wand firmly in his hand. Then he looked back at Sirius who was stiffly sitting in the worn, wooden chair and still glaring at him. Harry frowned worriedly. *_What's going on here? Where's my family? What did I do to make you both so angry and suspicious?_* He couldn't voice these thoughts however, because he knew he wasn't going to get anywhere while they were still playing. *_This must be big,_* Harry yawned. He was having trouble keeping his eyes open, *_for them to keep up the act this long._* He really couldn't face the thought that it was real; that his godfather really hated him. It was too confusing to think about when he was so tired.   


---*---

  


Sirius and Remus watched the mystery boy fall asleep.   


Remus walked up behind Sirius and said quietly, "Well, /_that_/ made a whole lot of sense."   


"Yeah. Should we wake him up?" Sirius asked. Ever since he realized this boy was not Harry, he had to keep reminding himself. The resemblance was scary. It was worse than the shock of seeing Harry for the first time; having to look into Lily's eyes on James' face.   


"No, he's better off asleep," Remus looked curiously at the boy asleep on his couch, "Do you think it's polyjuice?"   


"I'm not sure, but it could be. We've got a while before he'll turn back if it is, though," replied Sirius. "Why did he fall asleep?   


"Maybe he's tired?" Remus grinned.   


"How can you smirk at a time like this?"   


"Lighten up, Padfoot," Remus was presenting a cheerful mood to keep the shadows of Azkaban out of his friend's eyes.   


Sirius snorted, "How long until we hear from Dumbledore?"   


"Hours," replied Remus. "He's going to come through the fire, unless you want to risk Flooing to Hogsmead."   


Once again Sirius' status as an escaped convict interfered with the war against Voldemort. "What if he's waiting for us let our guard down?" Sirius indicated the sleeping boy on the couch.   


"How about this?" suggested Remus. With a flick of his wand and a few muttered words Harry fully relaxed and sank deeper into the cushions, "A nice sleeping spell. It'll keep him under for a few hours."   


"Good. I need something strong to numb the shock," Sirius grunted, stood, and went into the kitchen.   


Remus went back to his chair by the fire and picked up his discarded book. His werewolf senses would alert him to any change in the boy's condition.   


---*---

  


James Potter stood at the threshold of the hospital room observing a nurse tending to his son. For two days Harry was in very critical condition, the doctors weren't sure if he would live. Thank goodness, this morning they managed to stabilize him. Harry was laid out on a standard St. Mungo's hospital bed with the magical medication field surrounding him. James could just see Harry through the haze of multicolored gases. Those gases were how Harry was being healed; all the medication was inhaled and/or absorbed by his skin. James watched Harry breathe slowly and shallowly as the nurse walked up and down the bed, pulling out bits of color and putting others in.   


Harry's condition had stabilized enough that the doctors let James visit, but it was Rose who had found him. The rest of the family would come visit tomorrow, they couldn't leave Harry alone for Christmas.   


James let his mind wander while he waited for the nurse to finish. Harry, Rose and Andrew had been playing in the woods, he couldn't remember the game though. He remembered questioning a hysterical Rose when he found both her and Harry nearly buried in a snow bank. Rose told him that she heard a bit of a melody and then a loud crack. When she went to see what it was she found Harry lying at the base of the tree and bleeding from the head. She told him that Andrew arrived a bit later because he had heard her screaming. Andrew went back to the house under Rose's orders to get their father. James left Andrew with his mother while he went to get Harry.   


The nurse brushed past as she left to tend to the other children, but James didn't take any notice of it.   


The image of seeing Harry laying in red snow with Rose crying over him, screaming at him to wake up, was crisp in James' mind. Harry's hand was clutching his wand, his other hand was covered in blood from the compound fracture above his elbow. There was no sign of struggle, the rest of the woods looked like it belonged on a greeting card. But there was his son, lying bleeding in the snow with his daughter crying over him.   


A deep, masculine voice pulled him away from his thoughts.   


"Mr. Potter," the doctor said a second time.   


"Yes?" James finally responded.   


"Hello, I'm Dr. Burke," he smiled in a reassuring, doctorish way.   


"Nice to meet you, Doctor," James shook his hand.   


"Why don't we step inside," The doctor motioned for James to enter, closed the door behind them and then joined James at the foot of Harry's bed.   


"How is Harry doing?" asked James.   


"He's getting better, but he's not out of the woods yet." The doctor's manner beceome more serious and less friendly, "I know you told me that the children were only playing, but he's got traces of Dark Magic in him."   


James looked wonderingly at his son. *What had happened to him?*   


"That's all we've been able to glean off him so far. We've been careful not to aggravate his condition. But, Mr. Potter-"   


"Yes?" James interrupted.   


"Mr. Potter, is there something you're not telling me? Or not willing to tell me?" Dr Burke asked sternly.   


James only looked more confused and worried.   


"What reason is there for the boy, your son, to have traces of Dark Magic on him?" Dr. Burke frowned at James.   


"I don't know," James said quietly as he continued to watch his son. After a moment of silence he looked at the doctor, "There's no reason… unless, maybe, he was attacked by someone."   


"When he wakes up we will have to question him, but you should consider speaking to the Aurors."   


"I already had a few of them go over the area where Harry was found. They told me that it was like he just ran behind the tree and threw himself against it. But there's no way he could muster enough force to do that to himself without magic. And it's impossible for someone to attack him without leaving evidence."   


Dr. Burke nodded, "That is certainly out of the ordinary. Perhaps Harry will have answers for us when he wakes up."   


The two men stood silently at the foot of Harry's bed just watching him breathe slowly.   


* * *

  


**AN** - The whole writing to Dumbledore might confuse some people. Harry thinks that Remus and Sirius are playing games. He doesn't think Remus is really writing to Dumbledore, he thinks Remus is writing to his father and that "Dumbledore" is a code word for "James". I hope this chapter made sense, otherwise I'll explain it in the next one. There are lots of little and subtle and important differences between the two realities (Ex: Sirius being refered to as "Pookie" instead of "Snuffles".) that might confuse people. That's why plot errors might just be there on purpose. ^.-   
  
My discription isn't very good, I know, but I'm working on it. ^^;;; Moldy Voldie's is better... hehe   
  
_Thank you for all the reviews: _   
_Kay_ (Harry's kinda in a coma, as you read. There's not much to react to. ^^;;),   
_A-Chan_ (::giggles:: Well, Sirius thought so, that's why he snapped at Harry.),   
_Mayleesa_ (Glad you like it ^.^),   
_Lady Knight of Kennan_ (I plan on continuing to the end! ^.^),   
_DF Miei_ (Did you get the update notice? Hope you did. ^.^), and   
_neutral_ (hehe, to address his situation: he's kinda unconcious. After I get a few more chapters in and I reveal what happened/s to Voldemort (not telling) then you can pick on those two (Voldie #1 and Voldie #2) if you want to because I have no idea what to do with them, though it would be interesting. ::grins:: And I like what you write! Be positive! ^.^).   
_Miyamoto_ (Lily and James can say all they want, but while Harry's "in an altered staed on conciousness" (a term from my psychology textbook ::grin::) it won't really matter. hehe)   



	3. Chapter Three

**Switching Places**   
by Child of Two Worlds   
  
_Disclaimer_ - I own nothing, plain and simple.   
  
_A/N_ - Brownie points to anyone who knows what a "Harem" is. ::grins::   
  
/_italics_/ ~or~ /**bold**/ = emphasis   
  
*_thinking_* = thoughts   
  
_Italicized_ text without either of those marks are Parseltoungue and spells.   
  


* * *

  
  
It was after dark when Dumbledore appeared in the fireplace.   
  
Remus closed his book, Harems, Haggis and Humor: A Complete Guide of the Habits of Harpies, and put it on top the pile beside his chair. "Good Evening, Headmaster," he greeted, holding his hand out for support.   
  
"Good to see you again Remus," Dumbledore accepted the offered hand as he exited the hearth, "Though I wish it were under better circumstances."   
  
The fire flared green again and Severus Snape stepped out from behind the Headmaster.   
  
Remus and Severus exchanged curt greetings before Sirius came down from upstairs. When Sirius did make an appearance Severus's hand went for his wand. Sirius, unarmed, scowled at the Potions master.   
  
Dumbledore, with that infamous twinkle in his eyes, greeted Sirius cordially, "Hello Sirius."   
  
"Hello Headmaster," replied Sirius with a smile.   
  
"How are you both holding up?"   
  
"I'm glad I'm not prone to heart attacks," Sirius smirked.   
  
Severus muttered something indiscernible under his breath.   
  
Dumbledore smiled, "Ah, yes. Remus wrote a very interesting letter. I brought Severus with me in case we needed to interview the lad."   
  
Sirius nodded.   
  
"Remus, if you would be so kind?" the twinkle had nearly left Dumbledore's eyes. He was ready to do business.   
  
"Yes, Headmaster," Remus went over to Harry, pointed his wand at the boy's head and whispered, "_Ennervate_."   
  
Everyone gathered around Harry as he woke up. The blurry shapes came into focus after a moment and the first words out of his mouth were an outraged, "What is /_he_/ doing here?!"   
  
The four adults looked utterly baffled at his outburst.   
  
"Why is who here?" asked Dumbledore.   
  
"Snape," Harry snarled.   
  
God-fatherly instincts told Sirius to demand to know what Snape did but Remus's grip on his wrist reminded him that this boy was /_not_/ his godson.   
  
Dumbledore looked curiously at Severus, "Do you know anything about this?" he inquired.   
  
"I have no idea what Potter is talking about, Headmaster," Severus replied in a silky voice.   
  
"Liar," Harry scowled at the Potions Master before turning to Dumbledore, "What are you doing with that-that," he bit back an insult to remain respectful to the Headmaster, "/_him_/?"   
  
"/_He_/" Dumbledore indicted Severus, "Works for me. /_You_/, on the other hand - we are not certain where your loyalties lie."   
  
Harry was shocked that Dumbledore would be questioning his loyalty. True, he didn't know the headmaster that well, but he /_trusted_/ the Headmaster. How could that trust not be returned? (When not dealing with the 'who, what, where, and how's' of pulling a prank anyway.)   
  
"I would like to perform some tests. I promise they will be quite painless."   
  
Some thoughts decided to take this opportunity to cascade through his brain. *_Wait! What if Dad is using polyjuice for Dumbledore and Uncle Peter is Snape…how did they get something from Snape? Okay, that was a stupid thought. This is definitely Dumbledore and that most likely is Snape._* Harry was quiet for a few moments, "If it doesn't hurt…"   
  
"Actually it might tickle a little," Dumbledore couldn't help but smile a tiny bit. It was in his nature to try to cheer up people when they felt scared. Some things are involuntary.   
  
Harry's eyebrow twitched but he said nothing. Dumbledore passed his wand around Harry's head, then hands, then up and down the length of his body. When a faint, golden aura surrounded Harry Dumbledore ended the test.   
  
"What was that about?" asked Sirius.   
  
Remus wished that Sirius would just shut-up until the headmaster was done with whatever he was doing. He knew the headmaster would answer any questions when he was ready so Sirius might as well just observe quietly until the time came instead of wasting time asking questions that weren't going to be answered at the moment. Oddly enough, Severus was thinking similar thoughts.   
  
"Harry has passed one test but he still needs to pass another," Dumbeldore answered calmly.   
  
Sirius was about to ask another question but Remus shushed him.   
  
*_Good thing the werewolf can control that convict. I was about to hex him._* Severus thought angrily.   
  
Dumbledore spoke to Harry, "We would like to question you using Veritaserum. Is that alright with you?"   
  
"… Who brewed it?" Harry questioned. It was obvious to him that this was no longer a joke. A tiny part of him still grasped desperately to that idea, but the rest of him had given into the fact that he was in a very strange predicament indeed. However, Dumbledore was there with his calming aura. This may be among the strangest things that had ever happened to him, but Dumbledore was there like a shelter in a storm.   
  
"Professor Snape," Dumbledore replied cheerfully.   
  
Harry seemed to choke on that piece of information, "Pr-Professor?" he gaped at the Potions Master.   
  
"I've been teaching for quite a few years, Potter," Snape replied coldly.   
  
Harry glared at him, "Teaching what? How to kill people with just a flobberworm and a spoon?"   
  
Snape smirked knowingly at Harry giving the impression he could kill a person with a spatula.   
  
"Harry," Dumbledore attracted Harry's attention, "Will you allow us to question you with Veritaserum?"   
  
"Not if Snape made it," Harry continued to glower at the Potions Master.   
  
"Why do we need his permission?" demanded Sirius, "He's an imposter! I want to know what happened to Harry."   
  
"Sirius, calm down," Remus gripped Sirius's wrist more firmly but his words were drowned out by Harry's frantic outburst.   
  
"What do you mean?!" Harry exclaimed, "I'm right here!" He looked like someone told him Draco Malfoy would play seeker for Gryffindor.   
  
Sirius sat heavily into one of the living room chairs. He glared at Harry, eye to eye "If you Death Eaters have done anything, /_anything_/," he growled.   
  
"What's a Death Eater?" asked Harry, eyes wide, searching the faces of four adults.   
  
Once again the four men looked at Harry with curiosity mingled with suspicion.   
  
"Harry, I promise that what Severus gives you will only be a truth serum. Nothing more, nothing less," Dumbledore insisted.   
  
"I want to know what a Death Eater is," Harry insisted stubbornly. He was tired of these games and wanted some answers.   
  
"A Death Eater is a follower of Lord Voldemort," replied Snape in a cold drawl.   
  
"Who?" Harry's brow knit in confusion.   
  
"Harry," Dumbledore tried yet again to get the teen to agree to being questioned under the influence of Veritaserum. When Harry looked at him he continued, "We just need to be sure that what you tell us is the truth. We will abide to the Ministry's guidelines while questioning you. That's why I'm asking for your permission to use the serum."   
  
Harry looked dubious but relented, "I trust you, Headmaster, and I understand. /_However_/," Harry glared at Snape, "I do not trust /_him_/." A thoughtful look crossed Harry's face, "But you trust him. So I will let you use the Veritaserum."   
  
"Thank you, Harry," Dumbledore smiled and then turned to Severus, "If you would be so kind."   
  
"Yes, Headmaster," Severus drew a crystal bottle half full of clear liquid out of an inside pocket of his robes.   
  
Dumbledore conjured a glass of water, "Three drops should be enough." Three drops were added to the glass. "Now, Harry."   
  
"Yes?"   
  
"Do you know the side effects of using Veritaserum?"   
  
"Yes, Headmaster," Harry nodded.   
  
Dumbledore handed Harry the glass. Harry drank its contents in two gulps.   
  
A few minutes passed to allow for the Veritaserum to take effect. Harry began to feel detached and careless. *_So they have a few questions for me? It's not going to matter what I say to them. In fact, I have a few things I need to get off my chest. I hope they ask good ones. Who's going to care what I tell them? I certainly don't_*   
  
Seeing the glazed look come over Harry, Dumbledore began. "What is today's date?" asked Dumbledore. Under Ministry guidelines the interviewer had to ask at least one inane question to make sure the potion was effective.   
  
"December 24th, 1995," Harry replied in an expressionless voice, "It's Christmas Eve."   
  
"When were you born?" Dumbledore cut in. One side effect of Veritaserum was that it compelled you to speak, so it was the responsibility of the questioner to cut off the person being questioned or the person would talk until he was hoarse.   
  
"July 31, 1980 at 6:27 in the morning. Mum thinks that's why I'm a morning person."   
  
"What is your full name?"   
  
"Harold James Evans-Potter. Harold after my grandfather. James after my father. The hyphened last name was my mum's idea, but I usually just go by Harry Potter."   
  
"Where do you go to school?"   
  
"Hogwarts. I wanted to go there since I was little."   
  
"What house are you in?"   
  
"Gryffindor. Though the Sorting Hat had some comments to make about being the son of James Potter."   
  
Sirius had to remind himself that the boy was under Veritaserum and could not lie. Clenching and unclenching his fists also helped him remain calm.   
  
Dumbeldore's eyes twinkled at Harry's remark on the Sorting Hat but he continued in a serious manner, "Why aren't you in school?"   
  
"I left at the start of the Christmas holiday. I always spend Christmas with my family, my mother misses us because we're at Hogwarts all year."   
  
"Us? Who else are you referring to?"   
  
"My sister Rose, she's in her second year. Mum has still Andrew, though. He just turned eight and won't be going to Hogwarts for another three years."   
  
"Where have you been for the last three days?"   
  
"Three days ago I was playing hide-and-seek in the woods behind our house with Rose and Andrew. When I hid behind a tree something strong pushed me down into darkness. After that I woke up on the floor of some old room. I had been out for at least a day, my watch told me that much. My back hurt from the hard floor."   
  
"Describe the room for us."   
  
"It was a large, old wizards room with a dark green rug and it smelled like an animal had lived there. There was a big, fancy chair lying on its side against the wall with a large suitcase a few feet from it. The door was open, hanging on its hinges. It was covered in snakes, all of them had their eyes taken out."   
  
"And after you woke up, what did you do?"   
  
"I tried to find my way out of there. The door was open. It looked like someone had forced it open from within. I didn't know where I was after I got outside, I had followed a lot of passages, mostly following the breeze because I knew that would lead me outside. It looked like an old castle, like the ones from muggle fairy-tale books. I used a bunch of location charms until I could get enough information about where I was that I could get outside the protection wards and apparated away. I went to Diagon Ally after that, and then I went home."   
  
"Then what are you doing here?"   
  
"I was looking for my family. I couldn't find them so I wanted to find Uncle Sirius to ask him where they were. He would at least know where my dad was."   
  
"You are not related to Sirius by blood. Why do you keep calling him 'Uncle Sirius'?"   
  
"He's my father's best friend. I've always called him Uncle Sirius, or Uncle Padfoot"   
  
"How did you find him?"   
  
"He wasn't at his home either, it looked much too neat for Uncle Sirius to be home at the time, he's got hard working house elves. So I tried Uncle Remus's cottage thinking he might be visiting."   
  
Severus snorted, but Dumbledore ignored him and continued asking questions.   
  
"Where do you think your family is?"   
  
"I don't know where they are. There was another family living in our house. The woman who answered the door was rather rude and-"   
  
"Who do you live with?"   
  
"Mum, Dad, Rose and Andrew. Rose has a puffskein named Cassiopeia and Andrew has a rat named Orion. There's also my owl, Apollo, but he isn't really a pet. Sirius gave them to us the Christmas before I started at Hogwarts." Harry smiled in the befuddled sort of way one smiles when drugged.   
  
"What happened to the scar on your forehead?"   
  
"I've never scarred my forehead. I've got scars from Potions and Care of Magical Creatures though. There's the-"   
  
"That will be enough Harry." Dumbledore said. Harry shut his mouth and stared into space.   
  
Dumbledore was thoughtful for a moment. He turned back to the other three men, "Gentlemen, why don't we put Harry to bed and then we can discuss the situation in the kitchen."   
  
"You're sure about this Headmaster?" Sirius asked.   
  
"The boy is harmless, Sirius, but I need to talk to all of you about why he is here." Dumbledore spoke in a grave manner.   
  
"You mean he's not Harry?" asked Remus.   
  
"No, Remus, he is Harry. He's just not our Harry."   
  
"What - how is that -" Sirius started to say. Remus was flabbergasted. Severus merely raised an eyebrow.   
  
Dumbledore held up his hand and there was silence. "I am not at liberty to discuss the situation in front of Harry while he is still under the influence of the Veritaserum. It is not fair to talk about something that involves him while he is unable to participate." The other men didn't look happy at all at what he said, "However, I can fill you in on some basics. I will explain all that I know tomorrow."   
  
Sirius looked to Severus, "Can't you purge his system so we can have this discussion /_now_/?"   
  
"No," was all Severus said and he looked very pleased to be able to deny Sirius something.   
  
"Gentlemen," said Dumbledore, all attention turned to him, "Right now Harry needs to be put to bed," Dumbledore's eyes sparkled, "that is, if you want a bit of an explanation before Severus and I return to school."   
  
Remus nudged Sirius. "I'll take him," Sirius offered.   
  
"Good, good," said Dumbledore.   
  
Remus led the two guests into the kitchen and offered to make tea while Sirius helped the dazed boy to his feet and led him to one of the bedrooms. There were only two bedrooms in the house; one for Remus and the spare for Sirius. Sirius led Harry into Sirius's own room and helped him to bed before returning to the kitchen. Sirius was not going to allow Remus to sleep on the couch.   
  
Giving the boy on the bed one last glance Sirius saw that he was just laying there, staring at the ceiling. Sirius sighed, "Go to sleep, Harry." and he did.   
  


* * *

  
  
_A/N_ - The 'talk' next chapter…sorta, well it's there. This was a long chapter. I'm trying to make them all around 2000 words so I'll be faster with the updating while having a decent chapter length. This one ran over a bit more than the others. (But I'm sure you don't mind. ^.^ hehe) x_x;; This chapter doesn't feel right but I don't know how to fix it. Any suggestions? ...needs more description...arg.   
  
If you would like to be informed of updates, via email, please leave your address in your review. Thank you.   
  
Thank you's for all the reviewers!   
_A Person_ (I live for weird ::grins::), _Tidmag the hufflepuff, tsuki tatsu_(Did you get the email?), _Mayleesa, smile7499_(me neither), _Miyamoto, silverkitten_(Did you get the email?), _HiBob, Firedrake_(Did you get the email?), _ciauntie, A-Potter-Person, Laurelgand_(Did you get the email?),_ AngelStar88_(I don't mind in the least. ^.^ Dumbledore pretty much knows what he's doing though. He's the smart one in the group, hehe), _Lady Knight of Kennan_ (I'm two minds about that, but we shall see.), _Otaku freak, DF Miei, MSelendrile,_ and _neutral_(You hit the nail on the head with the "No Voldie" ^^;; Well, he's there, but he's still Riddle...::clamps her mouth shut before she says too much too early:: ::holds up a sign:: "Soon. That second idea is scary though." ::ink blot:: "Better quit while I'm only knee deep." o.-;;;;;) 


	4. Chapter Four

**Switching Places**  
Chapter Four   
  
_Disclaimer_ - Harry Potter and all the other people who live in JK Rowling's head belong to her. They only visit me, I don't own them or anything.   
  
/_italics_/ ~or~ /**bold**/ = emphasis   
*_thought_* = thoughts   
_Italicized_ text without either of those marks are Parseltoungue and spells. For this chapter it is also the name of a quidditch team.   
  


* * *

  
  
Once everyone, minus Sirius and Harry, were in the kitchen Remus broke the silence that had settled upon the occupants of the cottage.   
  
"What's going on Albus? What was all that talk about James and Lily?" It was hard to tell if he spoke quietly to cover his shock or his anger, or whether keeping his voice in check was an attempt to keep himself from loosing control. Remus waited for a reply while he busied about the kitchen preparing the tea service for use.   
  
Albus watched Remus while Severus quietly sat in a chair, "We should wait for Sirius," was all Albus said.   
  
Normally Remus was the person telling other people to be patient, but really now. Why won't Albus come out and say what was going on? Ah yes, Sirius wasn't back yet. Who would really want to explain something more than once?   
  
Shortly after Remus served his guests Sirius entered the kitchen, "Who was that kid? Where's Harry?" he asked without preamble as he sat down at the kitchen table. His voice wasn't quiet and guarded as Remus' had been, he was talking just above a normal speaking tone. Sirius wanted answers right then and there.   
  
"Calm down Sirius, I will explain everything," Dumbledore replied evenly.   
  
Sirius continued to glower and sulk, but said nothing.   
  
"Now, in the beginning of the term Harry came to see me about a spell he read about. I believe you have all met a precocious Gryffindor named Hermione Granger?" Dumbledore raised an amused eyebrow.   
  
Severus frowned, Sirius nodded, and Remus smiled. They knew her and they knew what she was capable of.   
  
"Apparently she came across and interesting spell and Harry decided to research it. Eventually he came to me for information on it."   
  
"What spell is this?" interrupted Sirius.   
  
"A theoretical spell. The Avadageo Adissium Charm."   
  
Remus' eyes lit up with new understanding, "He wrote to me about that spell back in September!"   
  
Sirius looked slightly put out, "He never wrote to me about it."   
  
"Poor mutt, feeling neglected are you?" Severus spoke with sarcastic sympathy.   
  
"Are you the one explaining what happened Snape?" Sirius glowered at the Potions Master. "No, I believe not."   
  
Dumbledore spoke up before the situation could dissolve into childish bickering. "Moving on, I gave Harry information on the spell. I had him promise not to share this information with anyone. Although I expected him to speak with Miss Granger and Mr. Weasley, apparently he did not. Also, I only gave him half of the information he needed to perform the spell. There was plenty of evidence in the books I gave him that he needed more information that what was there." Dumbledore sighed, "My intention was to give him some insight into how the spell worked and then he would come back to me for further information. But that, obviously, is not what happened. Either Harry found another source of information or he tried to perform the spell with only the information he had. I don't know which as of yet."   
  
"How much could Harry have gotten from those books?" asked Remus.   
  
"He would have only learned how to open the rift to the void. There was no information on the second stage of the spell, connecting it to the fabric of another dimension."   
  
"Void? Does that mean that Harry could have opened a black hole without the rest of the spell?" Sirius asked.   
  
"Yes. However, I don't think that's what he did since we have another Harry here. Our Harry must have found more information elsewhere."   
  
"Where could he have?" asked Remus, "I never heard of the spell in any respect."   
  
"It's a very old spell, an experiment carried out centuries ago as a hobby by a Greek Warlock." Dumbledore stroked his beard in a thoughtful manner, "I wonder what Harry's other source was, the books I had were among the few in existence," he pondered.   
  
"So, where is Harry now?" asked Sirius.   
  
"I'm not sure, Sirius. I will have to re-familiarize myself with the books to even being to fathom what may have caused this and where Harry ended up."   
  
"If Potter is missing, who is the boy upstairs?" Severus finally joined the conversation.   
  
"That boy /_is_/ Harry. Another one." Dumbledore knitted his eyebrows.   
  
"How can you know that?" Severus asked, frowning.   
  
"Because he glowed gold. That's a sign that the spell has been used." Dumbledore gave Severus an amused look, "Give me some credit. I may have read those books over a decade ago, but I remember what to look for when that type of magic has been tapped into."   
  
Severus looked a little lost for a second, but regained his composure, "So Potter and this other boy switched places?"   
  
"I don't know." Dumbledore sighed, "There are a great many things that may have happened."   
  


---*---

  
  
The sunlight sparkled and glistened on the snow covered moors surrounding the cottage. It was in the bedroom with the pale blue walls and white sheets that Harry Potter realized something. He knew it somewhere it the back of his mind, it was rather instinctual. But, alas, with the time lapse from the castle he couldn't be certain what it was. Not that those were his thoughts, he was really just trying to remember. He stretched and turned and pulled at his pillow. Still nothing that he was sure of. He uncurled, laid on his back, and took his glasses off the side table. It was then he noticed his watch. It was a special wizards watch given to him by his Uncle Peter. There were countless faces to this watch, each meaning something else. Mostly it showed the time and reminders about classes and holidays. There was a present for a birthday and it would say whose birthday it was if you put the date into the watch, a heart for Valentine's day, the seal of Hogwarts for school with the title of the class you were supposed to be in, a colored egg for Easter, a skull and cross bones for Mortal Danger, a can of Floo powder for when it's time to leave, a pineapple for home, and branch of holly for Christmas. At that very moment the face of his watch was showing "Christmas".   
  
Grinning like a maniac, Harry sat up, threw the covers off the bed and ran out the door. He either didn't notice or didn't care that he was still in the clothes he'd been wearing the day before (and the day before that, and the day before that...). "It's Christmas!" he yelled at the top of his lungs.   
  
As the eldest child of the Potter family and household it was his job to wake up everyone on Christmas morning. Not to worry, this is not an assigned job. He took up the duty himself. He was very proud of his job (and Rose being jealous of it made it even better). She would try to wake up before him, but she never succeeded. Harry was proud of that too.   
  
"Merry Christmas!" he shouted as he reached the top of the stairs. He practically flew down the stairs. "Wake up everyone! It's Christmas!" he continued joyfully.   
  
That is, until he reached the bottom of the stairs. It was then he saw the living room. There was no tree decked with sparkles and a star on top. Andrew put the star on top this year, he remembered because he had been there. The tree that /_was_/ there looked rather weak and depressed, the decorations dull, no star either. There were only two presents under the tree, but they did not have the colorful wrappings Harry was used to. The boughs of fir branches on the mantle of the fireplace were limp and there were no stockings. Only silence, no excited squeals from Rose and Andrew. In place of his parents sitting on the couch drinking tea with a tray of hot chocolates on the coffee table there was a harassed looking man clutching a burgundy blanket.   
  
"What the hell are you yelling about?" he demanded groggily.   
  
Harry just stared at the living room. An illusion? No. Reality. All of this was real. He remembered where he was, what supposedly happened. He was in a stranger's home, Dumbledore thought he was the enemy, Snape worked for Dumbledore, and the man who was his godfather hated him. The people he knew were missing, there was no Christmas here. No presents, no hot chocolate, no jealous Rose, no Christmas feast from Wigglesworth. "Nothing," Harry said quietly, "Never mind." He took a step back, intending to turn and go back up the stairs to the room but Remus was at the landing with a hand on the railing.   
  
"Why were you yelling, Harry?" Remus asked kindly. Dumbledore told them last night that Harry might be a little disoriented.   
  
Harry was very embarrassed to be caught in this situation, blushing greatly he shifted from foot to foot and fidgeted as he tried to answer, "I - er...that is...it's Christmas," he finished lamely.   
  
"Were you trying to wake up the whole village?" Sirius asked gruffly as he rubbed the back of his neck. Sleeping on the couch isn't very comfortable for a person his height.   
  
"That was the general idea," Harry replied sheepishly.   
  
All three of them were quiet for a few moments before Remus spoke, "Would you like some breakfast, Harry?" he asked kindly.   
  
"Yes, please," replied Harry, hoping against hope that Wigglesworth was here and there would be pancakes as he followed Remus to the kitchen.   
  
Sirius stood up stiffly and stretched. "Come on, Moony," Sirius said as he followed them, "I feel like pancakes."   
  
Harry couldn't help smiling. It was such a small thing to make pancakes, to have real maple syrup, but it made his heart hurt less to be there.   
  


---*---

  
  
The shadow of the two Potter parents fell across the unconscious adolescent on the bed. The light of the late morning served to illuminate most of the room in such a way that only a cold, winter sun could. Lily sat in the cushioned hospital chair holding Harry's left hand between both of hers. Her dark red robes were rumpled but her hair was pulled back into a loose bun. James stood behind her, dressed in navy blue robes, while he slowly and softly rubbing his wife's shoulders. Lily had cried the first time she saw Harry, seeing her first-born wrapped in bandages and under a medication field was bad enough, but the scar on his forehead was too much for her.   
  
She had peered through the field, her face just millimeters above it so that she could get as close to his tranquil face as possible without disrupting the field. It looked like Harry really had been attacked, the scar wasn't a natural shape. No normal scar is shaped like a bolt of lightning. It must have taken something powerful and dark to leave such a wound on the boy's head. The doctors promised to get to the bottom of the mystery of the dark red scar as soon as the more delicate medications in the field were lifted. Until then they could only speculate and observe. Lily carefully drew Harry's hand out of the field. Sniffling slightly, Lily rubbed his hand in between hers in the hopes that he would respond to her touch.   
  
Rose stood on the same side as her parents, towards the foot of the bed with her arm over Andrew's shoulder in a commiserating manner as they both watched Harry on the bed. Andrew had his head resting on her shoulder while he fingered the small box in his hands. It was his present from Harry, inside was the Grenouille Plumpton action figure, chaser for the _Caerphilly Catapults_, Andrew's Quidditch team. He had been told he could bring the toy with him if he kept it in the box. James said he wasn't up for searching the entire hospital for the wayward figure if Andrew lost it, so Andrew had to promise not to take it out. However, he planed to break that promise the second Harry woke up. Whenever Harry decided that it was nicer to be awake rather than asleep, anyway.   
  
"Do you think Harry is bothered by us watching him sleeping?" Andrew whispered to Rose.   
  
"I don't think so," she whispered back, her eyes still Harry.   
  
"What if he's just pretending to sleep and is just waiting for us to leave?" he looked up at his older sister.   
  
"Even if that was what he's doing, it isn't going to work," said Rose.   
  
"Why?"   
  
"Because the nurses and doctors would know if he's faking it," replied Rose.   
  
"What if he never wakes up?"   
  
"Then you get his room,"   
  
"But I like my room!" Andrew protested.   
  
"Then you will sleep in the cupboard," she continued logically.   
  
"Why? What about my room?" Andrew looked indignant.   
  
"You can't stay there-"   
  
"Why?" Andrew interrupted.   
  
Rose gave him a superior look, "Because I say so."   
  
"Mum!" Andrew slipped out from under her arm and dashed to his mother.   
  
Lily wiped her eyes before turning to her youngest child, "Yes, love?"   
  
"I don't want to sleep in the cupboard!" he threw his arms around his mother's neck.   
  
"Why would you sleep in the cupboard?" Lily asked gently.   
  
"Because Rose said so," he pouted.   
  
"Rose, don't tease your brother," Lily reprimanded her middle child. Rose was in the middle of give Andrew an annoyed glare, but her mother's tone snapped her out of it. Then Lily turned to her husband who seemed to find the whole exchange amusing, "And you!" She gave him 'the /_look_/', "Don't encourage them!"   
  
James tried to look repentant but failed, so he leaned down and whispered in her ear, "You know Andrew has you wrapped around his little finger," he teased.   
  
Lily pinched his cheek, hard, "And you know Rose has you wrapped around hers."   
  
Rubbing his cheek he replied, "And we're both suckers for Harry's antics."   
  
"True," Lily sighed and turned her gaze back to her oldest child, the mood in the room was once again somber.   
  


---*---

  
  
*_Harry, are you going to wake up? Are you alright? What happened?_* Rose thought to herself as she watched Harry lay on the hospital bed. He looked so peaceful, even though he appeared fuzzy beneath the medication field. *_Everyone's so worried about you...especially Mum. I'm worried about you. What if you really never do wake up? You have to wake up! I don't want to be the oldest! I don't know how you could be there during those times...like when Grandpa died. You sat through the whole funeral with your arm around me. You were so strong, even if you cried. How could you do that? I'm barely holding myself together now. I'm so scared, Harry ... but I have to be brave for Andrew like you were brave for me. Please wake up soon Harry, I'm sorry._* Rose angrily wiped her nose, *_Please, Harry._*   
  


---*---

  
  
"Are you sure I'm in the children's ward and not a classroom," asked a jovial voice.   
  
Everyone, sans Harry, turned to face the person to disrupt the silence of the room.   
  
"Santa!" cried Andrew just before he lunged at the tall man in the crimson robes.   
  
"Hullo there little one," Santa patted Andrew's head affectionately. Turning to address the room Santa proclaimed, "Happy Christmas!" The sad faces that wouldn't meet his eyes didn't ruin the man's good humor nor darken the twinkle in his eyes.   
  
"Now, now," Santa spoke in a thoughtful manner, "I know what a young lady," he looked at Rose, "such as yourself, would want for Christmas." He took a humongous, dark red bag off his shoulder and placed it on the floor. Though it looked like it contained enough treasures for a prince, there was plenty of room for more things to be stowed away inside it if need be. "As well as you, young sir," he continued to smile kindly at the family.   
  
Rose watched, her eyes sparkling with curiosity, as the man dug into his enormous, velvet bag and soon disappeared. Andrew was utterly entranced by the thought of yet another gift.   
  
"Santa!" cried Andrew. He tugged at the edge of the bag and tried to see into its depths.   
  
Santa's hand rose out of the bag to wave him off, "Don't worry, little one. I know it's in her somewhere," he began to hum as he searched for the presents. "Ah yes," came his voice after a bit, "here we are." Santa climbed back out of the bed with three presents under his arms.   
  
He was greeted by the delighted faces of two of the Potter children. "Which one's mine?" squealed Andrew.   
  
"Shush!" Rose elbowed Andrew, "Don't be rude!"   
  
Andrew stuck her tongue out at her.   
  
"He only gives presents to good little boys and girls you know," Rose fumed.   
  
"Well you're not little! You're twelve!" replied Andrew.   
  
Rose held her tongue, this wasn't getting anywhere. It never did.   
  
"Such loving siblings," Santa grinned at the two, now embaressed, children. "I know what it's like to have younger siblings and I know what it's like to have older siblings." He smiled at the two of them and handed them the presents. "Even if your mad at each other now, later you'll think the whole thing was funny."   
  
The two children looked like they seriously doubted his judgment, but accepted the presents and gave two happy "Thank you"s. Before you could blink they tore into the wrappings to get to the gift inside.   
  
While Rose and Andrew examined their new toys, Rose got a toy wand that made bubbles and sparkles come out and Andrew got a new set of gobstones, Santa placed the third present on the side table. "When he wakes up, this is for him," he smiled kindly at James and Lily.   
  
"Thank you so much," Lily murmured, her eyes glassy.   
  


* * *

  
  
_AN_ - Sorry this took so long, the hospital scene was a bit of a pain. ^^;; I have a new appreciation for anyone who can walking into a depressing room and lighten it up. In fact, anyone who can cheer-up sad people or lighten a mood. It's not easy! x.x;;   
  
_Thank you's:   
  
Practical Magic, Otaku freak_ ("No, he's just sleeping." - Monty Python),_ Firedrake_ (There's a simple and logical explaination for that, which I will get to eventually ^^;;;),_ tsuki tatsu_ (see Monty Python quote, hehe), _DF Miei_(Welcome, no problem ^.^),_ Avidia_ (You and me both...no, wait. I'm writing this...but I want to know what happens! hehe ^.-),_ Tidmag _(he's kinda out of it...), _Nicky_ (Um...eventually? ^^;;),_ neutral _(skitzo PoV would be interesting. Talking to himself and things that aren't there while insisting on other things that are real. Harry #1 waking up will be interesting to write... ^.^), _Lady Knight of Kennan_


	5. Chapter Five

**Switching Places**  
Chapter Five  
  
_Disclaimer_ - If you don't know by now that this isn't mine then you haven't been paying attention! =P   
  
  
  
As Santa was leaving the room James touched the portly wizard's arm, to which he turned his cheery face to the other's somber one. "Thanks Marv, that means a lot to us," said James.   
  
"No problem James. I do this every year," Santa smiled.   
  
"I know, I've read the papers. And you'll be back for New Years Eve too."   
  
"Maybe the tradition will live on, eh?" Marv gave James a meaningful look.   
  
James laughed, "I'm too young, I'd never be accepted. You'll just have to hang out for a few more years, Marv, if you really want me to have a shot at it."   
  
Marv snorted, "Your ego doesn't need anymore inflation," he paused, "I was referring to the need to a reindeer to pull the sleigh, by the way," he smirked.   
  
James pretended to be insulted, "I don't think so, you'd try and light my nose again."   
  
"It looked rather good, if I say so myself," Marv looked meaningfully at James' nose.   
  
"And only yourself," James retorted.   
  
"Ah well, there's always next year," he looked wistful, though he was still joking around, "I've got more rounds to make," Marv grasped James' shoulder in a paternal fashion, "I do hope Harry gets better soon. No one deserves this."   
  
James' eyes flashed, "So you think it was an attack?"   
  
"I don't know. However, we can't rule it out," his tone became grave, "When you reach a certain level of power, the need to watch your back is superceded by the need to watch your loved ones... To protect them from attack or to prevent a scandal," then Marv smirked, "But that could just be the Slytherin in me talking."   
  
James snorted, "Loyalty to one's own is a trait of both Slytherins and Gryffindors, Minister Riddle."   
  
"And Hufflepuffs," Marv chuckled.   
  
"Their whole house is about loyalty."   
  
Marv smiled at James as he swung the sack up on his shoulder, "Well, I've got to go James. I'll see you in the office on Monday. Have a Happy Holiday. Don't let this get you down, Harry'll pull through." Marv waved as he waddled off in the direction of the Nurse's station.   
  
"You too, Marv. Tell Mrs. Riddle "thank you" for the gifts. See you on Monday," said James as he waved at the other wizard, then re-entered the room.   
  


---*---

  
  
Breakfast was eaten mostly in silence. Remus tried desperately to start a conversation but things would get stuck once they hit some of the more blatant difference between the two dimensions. Apparently the Quidditch teams had radically difference rosters there.   
  
When the silence stretched again the older men tried to examine the younger boy, and vice versa, without being too obvious. Remus and Sirius saw differences, however subtle, in the boy's manner and appearance. He seemed younger and less weighed down, as a fifteen year old should.   
  
On the other end, Harry saw the two men as tired, Remus especially. Sirius just looked angry, having a stiff posture and shadowed eyes. This place was certainly different, and the people fit with its mood.   
  
Harry pushed the last bit of sausage around on his plate, "So, now what?" he asked.   
  
"After we clean up, we'll get dressed and wait for Dumbledore," replied Remus.   
  
"Aren't you going to contact my dad?"   
  
Sirius's fork hit him in the nose.   
  
Remus glanced at Sirius who was hiding his face behind a napkin, "No, Harry."   
  
"Why not?"   
  
"Because he's not here," Remus tried to dance around the topic and move on.   
  
Harry didn't understand, "Is he on a business trip or did your Harry do something to him as well?"   
  
"He's-" Sirius started to say in a dead tone.   
  
Remus cut him off before he could do too much damage, "You seem to be accepting this situation pretty calmly. We know so little. Is there something you know that we don't?"   
  
Harry shrugged, "I know next to nothing about this, but I know how to handle it," to answer the confused looks he continued in his explanation, "You see, my family travels all over the world and we have often diplomats stay for dinner. I've been exposed to many different cultures in different situations, and learned to observe then ask questions if it's appropriate," he then smiled sheepishly, "and it doesn't help to freak out."   
  
Remus nodded appreciatively. "I see. What do you understand about this situation?"   
  
"Well... I remember being questioned under the influence of Veritaserum. I told you about playing in the woods and waking up here. From what I've seen, I'm guessing there was a accident with someone's Time-turner," Harry looked thoughtfully at the two men.   
  
"Interesting, though incorrect," Remus commented as if he were lecturing, "What led you to that conclusion?" asked Remus.   
  
"Things here seem older, it's all different even in little ways. I know I'm somewhere else, because you're not my uncles and people who should be here are missing," Harry mused a moment, "And Snape works for Dumbledore. I wonder how that happened."   
  
"Snape is a Professor at Hogwarts," Remus was amused by Harry's startled expression, "He teachers Potions."   
  
"Does he now?" Harry looked thoughtful.   
  
"For several years now," Remus nodded.   
  
"Why would he want to teach?" Harry asked.   
  
"That's... complicated," Remus replied slowly.   
  
The conversation lulled again for the moment, no one really knowing what to say next. Eventually it was Harry who spoke up with what was obviously a practiced comment, "One thing I've also learned," he began quietly while Remus and Sirius looked at him with interest, "is not to be distracted," he gave them a hard look, "Where's my family?"   
  
Sirius became extremely interested in the crumbs on his plate while Remus struggled with how to answer him. No matter what this wasn't going to be easy, but hopefully he could stall until Dumbledore came. "That's also complicated," he said sadly.   
  
"How so?" Harry pressed.   
  
"You're not going to let me off, are you?" Remus raised a sardonic eyebrow.   
  
Harry's expression was tight and controlled, but his eyes were flashing with suppressed frustration, "No. Now answer the question."   
  
His expression fell. _I really don't want to be having this conversation..._ Remus thought sadly. "Harry," he began, "You said that you did not know who Voldemort was - is," he corrected, though he still looked uncertain.   
  
"And I still don't. How is he connected to my family?" Harry was getting worried now. Why couldn't Uncle Remus just tell him where his family was. Has something happened?   
  
"He's ... We're in the middle of a war here."   
  
Harry stiffened, this news wasn't going to be good.   
  
"Voldemort is an evil wizard. He and his followers, Death Eaters..." Remus tried to think of how to explain more twenty years of history, "They were very powerful once and those were dangerous times. No one could be certain whose side another person was on. There was a lot of paranoia..." Remus took a deep breath before continuing. "I was friends with your parents," beginning to get into Harry's personal history.   
  
But Harry was processing this information rapidly and whispered in confusion, "_Was_?"   
  
Sirius, who had been silent up to this point, stood up abruptly, "Excuse me," he murmured before fleeing the room. They could hear him climb the stairs and go into Remus' room.   
  
"What was that about?" he asked quietly.   
  
"I'll get to that," Remus replied stiffly. He continued to explain, "We were always in danger back then, no one was really safe. My friends, your - Harry's parents, Sirius and Peter..." Remus trailed off and then asked, "Do you know who I'm talking about?"   
  
"Yes," he nodded.   
  
"It got to the point where...where we realized there was a spy amongst us and that we needed to take the next step in protection and self preservation. Basing our - their decision on intelligence reports that Dumbledore received James and Lily decided to take you - him - er, Harry, and go into hiding. To protect them further they opted to perform the Fidelius Charm. Their Secret Keeper was supposed to be Sirius, but at the last minute they switched to Peter as a ruse." Remus spoke in a sad voice, being forced to relive his memories for the imposter. "But it turned out that Peter was the spy..."   
  
Harry started, "No..." he whispered, his anger replaced with grief.   
  
"On Halloween night of 1981 Peter betrayed his friends to Voldemort."   
  
"Why would he do such a thing?" he blurted, horrified that his amiable uncle was capable of such an act.   
  
"I - We are not sure. There are several reasons he could have had."   
  
"So this is why your Harry went through all that trouble to mess with time and space? Some evil bastard and a bunch of lackeys try to take over the world and he wants to play hero?" Harry looked at Remus in disbelief.   
  
"It is much more complicated and serious than that," Remus frowned.   
  
"I'm sure it is, but didn't anyone see how stupid the whole thing was? I mean-" Harry huffed.   
  
Remus cut him off, "Why don't you get dressed? Dumbledore will be here soon." When Harry grabbed his plate Remus continued, "I'll clean up down here. Just get ready to go." Anyone who knew Remus well would know that tone in an instant and stop whatever they'd been doing or saying (and more often than not make an apology).   
  
"Right," Harry put the plate back down, "Sorry."   
  
When he heard the bedroom door shut Remus put his face in his hands. Didn't this boy understand how serious this was? Or how they simply could not know back then? Everything was so uncertain then! A single decision or thought could mean a great deal... light or dark... life or death. Just how naïve was this version of his friend's son? How much would he wave off and ignore like it wasn't his problem? This was wrong... it just felt wrong.   
  


---*---

  
  
It was half past ten when Dumbledore appeared through the fire, "I hope I'm not too early?" he smiled.   
  
"No sir, we've been up since dawn," Remus replied.   
  
Dumbledore's eyes twinkled.   
  
"Harry seems to have a certain tradition where he comes from," Remus commented dryly.   
  
"Ah."   
  
"Would you like some tea?" Remus motioned towards the kitchen where Harry was sitting at the moment.   
  
"No, I'm afraid not. I have to collect Mr. Potter and must return to Hogwarts. Things are moving much faster than I suspected."   
  
Remus looked at Dumbledore with concern, "Of course, Headmaster."   
  
"Also, would you and Sirius apparate to Hogsmeade and see me in my office this afternoon? I know it's Christmas..."   
  
"But this is a special case," Remus supplied, "We'll be there."   
  
Remus and Dumbledore entered the kitchen to see Harry flipping moodily through the Daily Prophet. "Time to go, Harry," Remus smiled reassuringly at the nervous boy.   
  
"Already?" he looked surprised.   
  
"Yes, we need to get this sorted out as soon as possible," said Dumbledore.   
  
Harry nodded. Minutes later he was clutching the mantel of the fire place in Dumbledore's office. He brushed his hand roughly through his hair in an attempt to get the soot out. He was about to start on his robes when he heard an incredulous, "Harry?!" and someone latched onto him in a tight hug.   
  
"Where have you been?" cried the bushy brunette who had glomped him; her voice muffled from speaking into his robes.   
  
"Hermione, you're going to choke him. Let go."   
  
"You're right," she wiped her eyes, "he wouldn't be able to answer if he couldn't breath." She then grabbed him by the collar of his robes and gave him a glare normally reserved for Malfoy, "_Where_ have you _been_?! Do you have _any_ idea how worried we've all been?"   
  
Harry could only stare at her, "I - I'm starting to get the idea."   
  
"Miss Granger? Would you please release Mr. Potter so that we may discuss the situation at hand?" Dumbledore asked cheerfully as he exited the fireplace.   
  


---*---

  
  
After a bit of chaos it was decided that Harry would sit in between Ron and Hermione. Harry was delighted to see his friend Ron, but was a little disconcerted about Ron's girlfriend hugging him like that. At least, he hoped Hermione was Ron's girlfriend. _Oh God_, a horrific thought struck him, _What if she's **my** girlfriend?!_ He looked at her and then back at Ron. Both of them were listening to Dumbledore, entranced in the story. Harry then looked to Dumbledore, but he was as lost in the tale as his two listeners. It was no good. _I hope she doesn't try to kiss me. Oh God..._ He leaned back in his chair, wanting the whole affair to be over with, while his thoughts ran in circles. Quidditch, Susan, classes, Quidditch. He was so wrapped up in the concept of things being different (_How did I not see how bad...weird...horrible...crazy...arg!! **Terrible** this is?!_) he jolted when Hermione touched his hand.   
  
"Come on Harry. We're going back to the common room. We need to work out a few things," Hermione said gently.   
  
"Gryffindor, right?" he blurted. _Bugger..._   
  
"No. Slytherin," Ron smirked.   
  
_**Bloody hell...**_   
  
Ron laughed, "I'm joking!"   
  
Harry mock glared at him, "Oh very funny."   
  
  
  
_AN_ - I must have tried to write the breakfast scene about five times! And it's still weird! (Ok, I'll stop grousing. Eh he) Nothing accomplished except getting him to Hogwarts... -.-;;; And if you didn't realize who the Minister of Magic is I'm going to beat you with a wet noodle! (jk)   
  
_Thank you:_   
  
_Otaku freak_ (Eh he, well, here's a new chapter), _Anon_, _neutral_ (He doesn't really know what to think and he's being a prat because of it. But that's part of the plot...what plot? but hey! The duplicate Marauders are comming...I think. There's not much action or anything where they are concerned so I'm not sure what to do with it.), _Roxy_, _DF Miei_, _feorge_, _Bon_ (It _is_ a bit dull, isn't it? Oh well, there are some fun and action (and funny action) along the way. I'll try to spice it up.), _Endriago Luna aka tsuki tatsu_, _Lady Knight of Kennan_, _Nicky_ (I had this idea about magic being affect by mood...so the decorations kinda flopped out. They were much nicer three days ago, eh he), _smile7499_, _ast-lumos-draco_, _Tarawen_ (Twisted? hehe. He's immature, but I can see where you think he is twisted ^.^), _Scent of a Rose_, and _Phoenix_. 


	6. Chapter Six

**Switching Places**  
Chapter Six  
  
_Disclaimer_ - All the characters from the Potterverse belong the JK Rowlings.   
  
  
  
The three Gryffindors left Dumbledore's office and slipped away from the main hallway to favor the less frequented passages and secret short cuts they had discovered during their time at Hogwarts (and help from the Marauders Map).   
  
Harry glanced at his two companions, unsure of what to say. Hermione seemed deep in thought and Ron looked more than a little lost. They were so much like the people he knew, yet they weren't. They were like actors practicing their roles and trying to get into character. They were similar...yet not the _same_.   
  
When they emerged from under a tapestry and into a more trafficked corridor Harry's eyes were drawn to the familiar walls graced with paintings and artifacts he did not recognize. The stone was the same, the structure no different - it was the same hall he had run down when he was late, the same one he had wandered down when lost...caught Ron kissing Hermione after curfew... It was so similar! But it was slightly off... This belonged to another Harry and other people he didn't know. Would he ever get over this?   
  
"Come on, the Portrait is at the end of the hallway," Hermione waved for the two boys to hurry up. When Harry hung back to gawk she hissed at him, "We mustn't be seen!"   
  
Harry's attention snapped to her, his eyes narrowing slightly in annoyance, but he caught up to them and they entered the tower and ran up to the fifth year boys' dorm.   
  
Ron entered the room first with Hermione closing the door and locking it securely behind them. The Fred and George had been trying to cheer Ron up with a series of jinxed candy and it would not do for either of them to walk in until everything was sorted out.   
  
The boys sat on Ron's bed while Hermione dragged over a chair. She steepled her fingers and looked at Harry with watery eyes. "You look so much like him," she murmured sadly.   
  
Harry was freaked out to no end. The idea of having Hermione as a girlfriend was right up there with quitting the quidditch team: it was unthinkable. Yet she kept giving him that _look_. If a girl looked at him like that he knew at least one of three things would happen: 1. The girl would cry, 2. The girl would say she was disappointed in him, or 3. The girl would kiss him. She hadn't known him (verses _him_) long enough to be disappointed...maybe she would cry.   
  
Harry gave her a nervous smile. He would have to ask Ron later about who was with whom. There had to be a logical explanation for her behavior, yet logic kept handing him answers he didn't want.   
  
Hermione wiped at her eyes and sat up straight in her chair. "You both remember what Dumbledore said about when the Press and Ministry come and what we're supposed to do?" she asked in a lecturing tone.   
  
Ron nodded, "With the press we're to hang back, be supportive and say no more than that we're relieved Harry is back."   
  
Both pairs of eyes looked expectantly at Harry. Harry stared back blankly.   
  
"And your part, Harry?" prompted Hermione.   
  
Harry smiled a winsome smile at her, "That there was an inter-dimensional switch and swap and I'm just a kid along for the ride?"   
  
"Be serious!"   
  
Harry looked mildly confused, "What are we supposed to tell them?"   
  
"Did you pay _no_ attention to Dumbledore?"   
  
_Yes_, Harry smiled sheepishly at her.   
  
"Well, why not?" demanded Ron, "He was talking about some important stuff back there!"   
  
Harry looked away and mumbled, "I was a little preoccupied at the time..."   
  
Hermione's gaze softened, "I understand. We're supposed to be kept away from those interlopers anyway. That was just a precaution in case someone slipped past Dumbledore. Why don't we get a few things settled and figure out what to do about your scar."   
  
Harry blinked. "My scar?"   
  
"Our Harry has a scar on his forehead from when he defeated You-Know-Who...the first time," supplied Ron.   
  
"No, I _don't_ know who. What are you talking about?"   
  
"Voldemort," Hermione said as she reached out and traced a jagged line on his forehead, "It was right here and shaped like lightning."   
  
Harry stared at her with obvious nervousness. Ron's girlfriend was touching his forehead! She looked ready to cry! (_Do not kiss me...Do **not** kiss me..._) Why was she here anyway?   
  
Ron must have noticed his discomfort since he cleared his throat and spoke loudly, "And we have to do something about your hair."   
  
That shook Hermione right out of her reverie, "Yes," she looked at him critically, "Either we say he got a hair cut or grow it out with a spell." After a moment of thought she added, "We need to fix his glasses too."   
  


---*---

  
  
About a half hour later Harry was standing beside his counterpart's bed while Hermione made her final adjustments to enlarge the robes. For someone who was supposed to be his duplicate the other Harry was shorter and smaller than him. _How odd._   
  
Harry had transfigured his glasses to match those in a picture on the shelf and Ron's specifications. Did that other Harry truly like these glasses? For him, they sat too high up on his nose and were definitely not fashionable. His hair was longer now too. That took several tries: first Hermione grew it too long, then Ron cut it unevenly. Next thing he knew it was too short again and Hermione had to redo the spell. It was very frustrating.   
  
And finally there was that new mark on his forehead. Hermione had said it was a curse scar, from Avada Kedavra of all curses. That made the least sense of anything he'd seen here, and the normal things were confusing enough! How could someone survive the Death Curse? Well, curse scar or not, it had to be touched up every week or so. This spell was normally used for temporary tattoos and lasted about two weeks, but if he touched it up regularly he didn't have to worry about it fading away.   
  
"All done," Hermione chirped as she stood and brushed off her robes.   
  
"Not bad, not bad," Ron grinned.   
  
Hermione looked at her watch, "We've missed lunch," she sighed.   
  
"I'll go get something from the kitchens then," volunteered Ron.   
  
Hermione nodded in agreement. Harry, doing some quick thinking, blurted, "I'll come with you!" Their attention snapped to him (Ok, so he spoke a little too loudly). "Well...I want to see if anything else is different so I don't make anymore mistakes."   
  
That seemed like an acceptable answer to the other teens. A few moments later Harry and Ron were waving good-bye to Hermione who told them she would wait for them in the common room.   
  


---*---

  
  
James Potter leaned on the administrator's desk as clipboard after clipboard was handed to him. His quill flew over the parchment, signing on one dotted line after another. All of them were Hospital bills and insurance papers from Harry's attack.   
  
Most people would wait a while before facing something like this, but James Potter wasn't like most people. The sooner this was taken care of the better.   
  
With the final paper signed, James gave his good-byes to the doctors and went back to Harry's room. He wanted so much to stay there and be with his son. But the world wasn't going to stop just because of this. There were other things that still needed to be done. He had two other children who needed attention and support in addition to a wife and mother whose heart would be broken if anything more happened to her babies.   
  
And above all else he had to find out what happened to Harry. If it was a malicious attempt...   
  
James gripped the handle bar on the side of the bed, unable to finish that thought. He gazed sadly at his son. He looked so peaceful. _They always look peaceful._ Nothing can hurt him wherever he's gone. _Just...come back...come back to us._   
  
James turned around and left the room. He gave a final wave to the nurses on the floor and made his way to the exit. Once outside he walked passed the parking lot, carefully trimmed shrubbery, a _Freya Burian's Flora_ florist delivery truck and enter St. Mungo's apparition area. He took his wand from the depths of his robes and was gone.   
  


---*---

  
  
Gilbert McGlenn drove up to the front of St. Mungo's Hospital exactly fifteen minutes after he saw a certain James Potter pass his truck. He took one last swig from his canteen before going into the back to get the floral arrangement that was his reason for being at the hospital.   
  
A few minutes later he was beyond the nurses station of the children's ward. Shortly after that he entered Harry Potter's private room. He gingerly placed the flowers on a side table, fixing any flowers that had slipped from the magically glued spots and made sure the card was visible.   
  
A quick look over his shoulder told him that no one was in the hall. He stood over the unconscious boy, like any other visitor would, quietly watching to boy sleep. Yet he wasn't just any visitor.   
  
He removed a small, brown packet from his pocket, ripped the top open, and dumped it into the magical medical field. The green powder spread quickly throughout the field causing an immediate reaction from Harry. The boy's face contorted in pain and his breath came in short gasps, like a fish on land. With a swift kick to the magical machinery behind the bed McGlenn dislodged the connection that powered Harry's life support system.   
  
He smiled, satisfied with his work. To an observer it would be a hopeful smile that would make you smile in return. It looked like he was smiling because he knew that the person in bed would recover from this little bump on the road of life. You'd never suspect the sadistic reality behind that smile.   
  
Indeed, no one did suspect and Gilbert McGlenn was able to exit the ward. He was not met with resistance, but quick nods and a wave or two. He was in the lobby of the first floor when Harry flat lined. So he never saw the nurses or doctors scrambling to save the son of a popular politician. He never got to see the chaos he caused, though surely it would have made him smile again.   
  


---*---

  
  
It was with subdued happiness the Potter celebrated Christmas with their closest friends. The infamous Marauders sat off by themselves deep in discussion. Their wives and other female friends were busy in the kitchen having their own meeting while they helped the house elves finish dinner. The children ran about the tree laughing and shrieking in Christmas delight.   
  
Remus and Peter sat in comfortable wingback chairs while Sirius and James sat on the couch. Sirius had his arm around James in commiseration. Little was exchanged between the men, they just enjoyed the sense of camaraderie that seeped through the masked worry. Their previous conversation had been interrupted by Peter's daughter who, having just discovered the wonders of running (she skipped walking entirely), came up to show off the new toy she had. The men laughed and played with her until the other children beckoned her back to their own groups.   
  
Now they were unwilling to pick up where they had left off. So they sat in silence. That is, until a there was a sharp tap at the window to which all four looked at the same time. James reached over and let the bird in. The owl flew to the arm of the couch and stuck out its leg. James opened the letter. Upon reading the contents he froze in horror.   
  
"James?" Remus touched his knee.   
  
"James? What's wrong?" Sirius prodded him in the arm.   
  
"It's Harry. Some - someone tried to kill him," James whispered brokenly.   
  
"Oh, god," Peter put his face in his hands. The other three were affected similarly, shock and horror written all over their faces.   
  
"I have to go back to the hospital. I should have never left him alone!" James tried to stand but Sirius pulled him back down.   
  
"You're not helping by getting hysterical," Sirius hissed.   
  
James snorted. Of all people telling him not to over react...   
  
"Listen. Why don't we go with you?" suggested Remus.   
  
"We can take my car," said Peter.   
  
"Good idea. There's no way I'm letting you apparate, let alone drive," Sirius still had a firm grip on James.   
  
"Let's excuse ourselves then!" James tried once again to stand.   
  
"What will we tell Lily?" asked Peter.   
  
James sunk back down, "Oh...god...Lily! If we tell her she'll just be hurt more, but if we don't she'll be hurt anyway because I didn't tell her!"   
  
"We'll deal with the Tigress later. She'll understand once she's hexed herself out," Sirius had switched gears. Now he wanted to be gone from the house to the bedside of his godson.   
  
"Harry needs you," said Remus, "I'll go make our excuses." Remus stood and carefully made his way to the kitchen. He nearly fell flat on his face twice; all the toys and children on the floor had created the mother of all obstacle courses.   
  
James took this opportunity to glare at the patiently waiting Horned Owl. "Well, what do you want? I'm coming!" The owl ruffled his feathers and hissed at him before taking off through the window and into the winter sky.   
  
  
  
  
_AN_ - This chapter is a great example of how loopy-like I can write. o.O I seriously need to expand my vocabulary. Anyways, things are moving along. (You didn't really think I'd leave him in that hospital bed, did you? *Glances at Setsuna* Well, yes. But things change! ^^;;) I have ... a plan! (Ok, enough rambling. Hope you enjoyed chapter six!)   
  
*I had meant to put this explanation at the end of chapter four. See, in the other world Riddle was adopted instead of spending all those years in the orphanage. His adoptive parents were on the strict side but they were good people - loving and accepting of his magical heritage. He still hates his father for abandoning him, so he doesn't like to be called Tom or Tomas. Instead, he goes by Marvolo or Marv since that was the name of his mother's father. (That's as I've placed it, there's nothing in the cannon about why his middle name is Marvolo). Yet he kept the last name Riddle to show he wasn't ashamed of his muggle heritage. (Well...anyway, that's to cover my behind since I created a plot hole and didn't realize it until halfway through writing this chapter. Eh hehe ^^;;; )   
  
So, instead of growing up bitter and angry to become Voldemort he focused on more positive things and became the amiable Minister we know today. Though, his father had to shake a few things into him...hehe   
  
That was the big change that's the premise for the reality I created for this story. It had a big ripple effect, but I think it worked out pretty good for keeping James and Lily together. Though, as you're seeing, it made other changes.   
  
Oh, and the pairing isn't Harry/Hermione. I'm just messing with him. ^__^   
  
I also keep forgetting to say that if you would like an email to tell you when the next chapter is up just leave your address in your review. Thanks!   
  
Thank you:   
  
To my beta reader _Setsuna_ who gets far too little credit for the help she gives me. *glomps*   
  
_Practical Magic_(the stranger the better, I say! hehe), _¤Endriago Luna¤_(You're going to find out the deal with Snape. He may not wear pink, but in my other fic he's going to get some new footwear! *snickers* The explanation about Marv is above. If it's not good bug me and write more about it in the author's notes. You can kick Harry#2, but try not to kill him. I need him for the story. ^__^), _BlkPerch_(waking up has amazing shock value), _Nicky_(Harry#2 needs a serious reality check, hehe), _Child of the Universe_, _Otaku freak_, _A-man_,_DF Miei_(This will be finished! I'm not stopping for anybody! wahaha), _Bon_(He does have that 'everyone's against me' charm, doesn't he. ^.^), _Lady Foxfire_(That's for me to know and you to find out.), _davis4ever_, _FatnSassyQuattaHoss_, _neutral_(More tension...wahaha. I wasn't expecting to include the other Marauders in the chapter, but hey! There they are! Would you look at that. o.O No one else is going to go "Sliding" (Sliders, heh. I haven't seen that show in a l o n g time) but there's going to be some sleuth stuff), _Lady Knight of Kennan_(Yeah, I remember that. ^.^ Some of the Disney movies are really great (Beauty and the Beast is my favorite)), _smile7499_(Yeah, poor guy.), _MeShelly_(Wow, you reviewed every chapter (like, really reviewed them). Cool. ^__^ Any and all analysis is welcome! Harry#2 is amazing, sometimes he picks up on things immediately and other times he's as thick as molasses... I guess it's all in how a person perceives things, their train of thought. A roster is the list of players on a team. Harry#2 is used to games, so he got the 'was' bit. But he found the rest just unbelievable. He's a basic adolecent, he thinks the world revolves around him), _Cammy_, _Lexy_(You don't get to see much, they're all upset. Maybe they'll pop up again. "Azkaban"), _LillSakura_(He'll wake up when he opens his eyes and yawns =P), _m'darlin diggie_(If he does that he'll have to plead temporary insanity or something o.O), _lilly J_(I did kinda the opposite, didn't I. hehe), and _Fang_(I haven't had much time I can consider "writing time", oh well. Harry#2 is a normal adolescent who was spoiled as a baby and has parents with expectations. In other words, he's like most children from the upper middle class.) 


	7. Interlude One

**Switching Places**   
Parody Bonus (Whether you want it or not)   
  
AN (ie: Excuses) –   
  
The Short of it: Real life had hit me upside the head and I have no time for my own writing. Here's some silly bonus stuff because I've gotten 100 reviews! ^___^   
  
The Long of it: I know what it's like to be anxious for a new chapter and I don't like being the source of that. (grr...) Sadly I am lacking two important things to be able to write chapter seven: Time and a comfortable writing space (well, I found one really. The problem is that when I'm available to use it so is everyone else…get the picture?). ;_; I found a little time to write out some snippets I've scribbled between and during classes (it's good enough for this silliness but I need a larger block for the real chapter...). x_x This is also intended as a bonus because I have received 100 reviews! (101 right now, but that's beside the point). ^___^ These are parodies and may not make much sense, let alone be funny. ^^;; There's a behind the scenes bit of humor that can be taken as part of the story and is marked as such. There is also further information on Riddle and how he didn't turn out evil at the bottom. Review responses will be included at the bottom of the actual chapter Seven.   
  
** If you don't like this then make a suggestion for if and when review 200 comes around. If you do like this then tell me! (Nothing but complaints will be counter-productive.) Ok? **   
  
Enjoy!   
  
  
  
_Parody Number One_ - St. Mungos at some time before McGlenn tries to kill Harry:   
  
St. Mungos was a busy place – nurses hustled from room to room, doctors were never in enough places at once, visitors wandered up and down the halls in a futile search for loved ones and patients lay there in utter boredom either reading magazines from a decade ago or repeatedly calling for the nurse just for the attention. There was one patient, however, who did neither because of his inability to be conscious.   
  
This patient was one Harry Potter. This one, not the other one, had been run through the mill. For this reason he was in fairly serious condition and under a powerful medication field to stabilize him while other healing magic went to work on his injuries. Being unable to do much more than breathe, he had few visitors. However, considering the hectic nature of St. Mungos the gaggle of girls who slipped into his room went largely unnoticed by the hospital staff.   
  
"There he is!" one near the front whispered excitedly and pointed.   
  
They surged forward and surrounded the bed. While several of them made delighted noises and fidgeted, another gave him a once-over and commented dryly, "He looks like death warmed over."   
  
Another nodded solemnly, "No wonder he's in a coma."   
  
"Let's wake him up!" came a voice from the behind one of the taller spectators.   
  
"Did anyone bring a wand?" They looked at one another. Several shrugged, others moaned in disappointment, and a few had excited grins plastered on their faces. All at once at least five wands were whipped out of sleeves or other concealed places at the same time. It took a moment to get over the shock of staring down the length of a wand… on the receiving end.   
  
"Ok, now what spell should we use?" The grins disappeared.   
  
"We could just poke him until something happens."   
  
"Does anyone have a Latin-English dictionary?" asked a girl with bits of plastic in her hair as she waved a hammer at the other people.   
  
But before that could be discovered the door opened and a surprised and angry Dr. Burke stormed into the room, "Do you not realize that the hospital has rules on the amount of visitors allowed in a room at one time?"   
  
He was met with several blank stares.   
  
Then he saw the wands. "The University Hospital is in Lancaster. I suggest you step away from Mr. Potter before I call the Aurors."   
  
"But-but he's got to wake up!" cried one.   
  
"He can't stay asleep!" cried another.   
  
The rest of the protests blended together into one cry…until they were suddenly silenced. They looked at each other in confusion, their mouths agape but no sound escaped.   
  
"Ok, I tried to stay true to the story line but this is ridiculous," Dr. Burke sighed in frustration. "All of you reviewers, out! He will wake up when he is supposed to!" Dr. Burke waved his arms and then pointed at the door.   
  
Many of the reviewers hung their heads and they left the room. A couple of stragglers stuck out their tongues and one rambunctious reviewer slammed her foot into Dr. Burke's shin. As he howled in pain and rage she scampered off to the others who were snickering along with her.   
  
  
  
_Parody Number Two_ - How the scenes should really be:   
  
Harry looked up at the person who was supposed to be his Uncle Remus, "You know, you look really tired and beat. Did Uncle Sirius take you bar hopping again?"   
  
Remus sputtered, "No..."   
  
"Then did he try to...um...you know," Harry wiggled his eyebrows.   
  
"No!"   
  
"Can anyone explain what the hell is going on?" Sirius asked petulantly.   
  
"Dumbledore can," Remus shrugged.   
  
"But he's not here right now. He needs to be here so he can explain," Sirius whined in a very dog-like fashion.   
  
"I'll go owl him." As soon as Remus left the room all communication halted. The remaining occupants did nothing but stare at one another and they continued to do so until Remus returned. He wiped some ink on his robes and then looked up expectantly at Harry and Sirius.   
  
Nothing was said.   
  
"So…" Remus wanted to ask 'What are you doing here? Why are you here? Why me?!' and throw his hands up in supplication to some omniscient being that took pleasure in making his life hell. Instead he looked at the silent men, staring at each other.   
  
The silence seemed to be infinite. If this were some artsy film the sun would set and the stars would come out and meanwhile not a word would be said; no movement made.   
  
Remus felt a finger prod him in the back, "You alive?"   
  
Remus knew it was useless to try and look so he simply replied, "Do you want to get into the technicalities of it or just say 'yes'?"   
  
There was a disembodied snort, "Just say yes."   
  
"Yes, then," Remus rolled his eyes.   
  
Harry looked pleadingly at the spot beyond Remus where the snort had come from. "Line?"   
  
  
  
_Parody Number Three_ - Remus and Sirius (at some point after Harry has left):   
  
Remus returned to the living room with a china tea service balanced expertly in his hands. As he set it down Sirius remarked, "There's nothing else."   
  
Remus poured out the tea and asked calmly, "Nothing else of what?" He eyed the manuscript Sirius seemed to be reading from and realization dawned, "Maybe she hasn't gotten that far yet."   
  
"Maybe she's going to kill us off," Sirius threw down the script and prepared his own cup.   
  
"Maybe she's written us out," Remus suggested and took a sip.   
  
"That's what I just said."   
  
"They're not the same thing, Padfoot," Remus shook his head, "You just specified _how_ we'd be written out."   
  
Sirius was thoughtful for a moment as he added sugar to his cup, "Maybe she'll send us on an impromptu trip to the Caribbean."   
  
Remus took another sip of his tea, "I'd like that."   
  
  
  
_Parody Number Four_ - Annoyance with the so-called _Innocent Harry_:   
  
Endriago Luna had decided to skip the trip to St. Mungos. The mission to wake up the original Harry was important, but she had other business to attend to. She stalked along the corridors of Hogwarts until she reached the portrait of the Fat lady. This was by no means a difficult obstacle, a stolen password and a sweet smile gained her access to the Gryffindor common room.   
  
She grinned and her anticipation grew as she drew closer to the fifth year boys dormitories. But how should she go in? Sneak in as she had done for most of the way here? Kick the door in and take him by surprise? Pretend to be a sweet girl that didn't exist in his world? Well, the last had possibilities because it would allow her to get up close while she watched him squirm. She snickered to herself.   
  
However she dismissed them all upon seeing him on the landing. His back was to her due to an untied shoelace. This was too perfect! She stepped up to him confidently, but in complete silence, aligned herself for the best shot, took aim and gave him a swift kick in the pants.   
  
Upon contact Harry gave a startled exclamation that cannot be repeated without raising the rating. He fell forward and caught himself before he plastered his face against the flag stone while the sound of his voice echoed through the tower as well as the resounding smack from hitting the floor. Still uttering censored words, he flipped over to face his attacker.   
  
But she was already gone. There was nothing left to show that someone had been there except for a small slip of paper with something written on it. Harry crawled over and picked it up. It read: Endriago Luna has permission to kick Harry Potter. Not Scar Harry, the other one. – [Signed] Child of Two Worlds   
  
  
  
_Behind the Scenes Number One_ - Dumbledore in his Office:   
  
Headmaster Albus Dumbledore had one weakness that could truly be exploited by evil forces and that was his love of sweets. However, since Dark Forces tend to favor Liver and Onions as snack food it is unlikely any form of evil will manipulate this addiction.   
  
Nevertheless, such an addiction did have its consequences. As he sat at his desk eating muggle sweets he tried to figure out what the heck Harry (our Harry) did. One hand held a bag of Lemon drops while his other hand was used to insert candy into his mouth and turn pages. He was so completely absorbed in both task and candy that his didn't take notice of his sticky fingers.   
  
Upon turning touching the parchment to turn to the next page the tome snapped shut on his hand. The book snarled and chewed on Dumbledore's hand as he gave a surprised shout and waved his arm about in a futile attempt to dislodge the book. Immediately he was up out of his chair and swinging every which way, but the book held on. Finally, with a great amount of centrifugal force, the book lost its hold on Dumbledore's hand and flew across the room. It smacked the door to his office, slid to the floor and opened to the page where he had left off - all the while whimpering and rustling its pages.   
  
Rubbing his abused hand, Dumbledore sighed, "I really must remember which books are mine and which belong to the library."   
  
  
  
_Behind the Scenes Number Two_ – The New History of Tomas M. Riddle:   
  
Tomas Riddle was abandoned by his father shortly after his birth and he spent the next eight years of his life at a muggle orphanage. This is how he knows what it is like to have both older and younger siblings. While he grew up with muggles he may or may not have known of his magical heritage. How? I'm guessing. It could go either way and he drew several parallels between his life and Harry's in _Chamber of Secrets_. In the books Riddle really did grow up in an orphanage and really did live there for most if not all of his time spent at Hogwarts. I can't imagine that he didn't know before getting his letter and there is no way the orphanage would have paid for him to attend.   
  
So the guess is, based on the canon and a few other odds and ends, that Riddle's mother must have had money in Gringotts so that Riddle could afford going to Hogwarts. He must have known _something_ before hand to be so fiercely proud of his magical heritage. Well, then again maybe he resented not being told before hand… Whether it was the actual knowledge that he was a wizard or whether he just knew he was different, I'm really not sure.   
  
For muggle-borns there has to be someone who comes and explains the whole deal with magic so that the whole letter by owl isn't passed off as a scam. This could have happened if Riddle really didn't know about his magic.   
  
Anyway, Riddle's adopted around when he is eight. I'm going with he knew he was different, but he didn't know how much. (Pet owners, here is an analogy: You remember when you went to the pet store/shelter/wherever and you just _knew_ that you wanted _that_ one? It's kind of like that... Not to demean it or anything, but that's the best way I can think of to explain it. It's either that or give his adoptive parents a tragic past and that's too cliché.) Riddle has some issues about being abandoned by his father, as he discovers when he gets to school.   
  
At some point during his adolescence he has a heart-to-heart with his father about right, wrong, good and evil. Some anger management and a few eye openers. Riddle, in this universe, has grown up with muggles and has seen the best and worst of both worlds. He resents his biological father's reaction (while appreciating what his adoptive parents have done for him) and wonders what life could have been like his is mother had not died. He wants to prove to himself and to his biological father that he is not some freak or worthless (like how he excels in school in the canon. I'm guessing anyway…). Thus, he raises himself up above the standard and eventually becomes the minister of magic.   
  
Now for the whole Santa deal. Riddle spent the majority of his childhood in an orphanage. He knows what it's like not to have a family. When he was ten he needed his appendix out. This was a huge deal in those days and you were in the hospital for at least a week and then it was a long road to recovery after that. This didn't have such a profound impact until later in life when he met his wife. She made a comment about those who didn't have someone to go home to for the holidays. He was bringing her to meet his family (he has adopted siblings) since by this point she was nearly his fiancé (he hadn't proposed yet). He remembered his time in the hospital and how lonely it was. Then he got to thinking about those kids who didn't get any visitors.   
  
He started doing the Santa thing before he became Minister of Magic, and it certainly helped to gain votes during his campaign. He continues to do it for Christmas, New Year and a couple of other holidays throughout the year if he can manage it. However, he will _always_ show up for Christmas. ^__^   
  
Is that better? If not, just ask questions. His life and family aren't that important to moving the plot along, it's just where everything started being rearranged. I like to believe that James and Lily had a 'true love' thing going and were going to be married regardless. Harry was an unexpected first. Then there's also how I perceive alternate universes. There are similar universes to this where Harry wasn't born, while Riddle did choose this path. It was necessary, for whatever Harry did (b/c I'm not telling _that_ at this time ^.~), that there had to be another Harry to exchange places with. (That may be too much information as it is... =P But how many people are going to read this far? o.O)   
  
**Oh, and if anything in the actual story seems random, please point it out. McGlenn was a change of plans, but he wasn't random (there's a point to what he did and something will come of it). I have the whole thing figured out; it's just getting out all the details that takes time and effort.**   
  



	8. Chapter Seven

**Switching Places**   
Chapter Seven // Hi! Remember me?   
  
Disclaimer: Not mine. The End.   
  
  
  
James tried to get to Harry's room as soon as they arrived. While they were cajoling the nurse Dr. Burke swept past, pausing just long enough to tell the lot of them to go to the waiting room and stop hectoring the nurses. There was a brief argument and the men found themselves sitting in a row under the window. James put his head in his hands, resigned to waiting. Sirius, on the other hand, whispered plans to Peter, accentuated with agitated hand gestures.   
  
"I need a lab coat and a clip board," Sirius' eyes glittered with visions of storming the ward, striding past the nurses, and slipping into Harry's room.   
  
Peter, pale as a sheet, shook his head every time Sirius looked at him.   
  
"Remus can wear a nurse's robe," Sirius continued, tapping his chin thoughtfully.   
  
"Sirius!" Remus hissed. "This is neither the time nor the place."   
  
"Four doctors walking down the hall is going to look too suspicious," Sirius glared back.   
  
"Hiding in plain sight," Peter mumbled on autopilot. He rather looked like he would be sick.   
  
Sirius slapped him on the back heartily, "That's the idea, Petey-boy."   
  
In the same monotone, "Don't call me 'Petey-boy'."   
  
"Sirius," James said in a weary voice, "Can't you feel the magic in this place?"   
  
"Only a muggle wouldn't," Sirius said, affronted.   
  
"If this is what you feel in the _waiting room_," James hissed, "Then imagine what will permeate Harry's room. I will not have you endangering my son with one of your _plans_."   
  
Sirius looked crestfallen.   
  
Remus nudged Peter, "A pair of Aurors just came in. Do you know them?"   
  
Peter watched the pair cross the waiting room toward the main ward, "Yes, that's Avery, a top official." He nodded to one man in blue Auror robes with light brown hair, "and I know the other man's face. He's an Unspeakable. They work together, a sort of detective team."   
  
"They must be here about Harry," Remus looked over at Sirius expectantly.   
  
"I'd assume so," Sirius wore a vaguely thoughtful expression as he watched them.   
  
Remus nudged Peter, "Why don't you two do some snooping?"   
  
"We do not '_snoop_', Remus," Sirius stood and pulled Peter up with him, "We are _investigating_, because no one will tell us anything unless we find it out for ourselves."   
  
When they were gone, James sat with Remus in companionable silence while a hundred horrendous thoughts swirled through his head. The room was half filled with people: adults, children, and the occasional medi-witch/wizard. Just like yesterday and years before that. Anyone of them could have poisoned Harry. His son was unprotected yesterday and he was still very vulnerable now. Their conversations float around the room, words here and there could be heard in the cacophony of sounds: worry, anger, laugher and weeping. It all thudded in James' head, making him very tense. He opened his eyes to stare at the floor and ease his headache. A glance told him Remus was waiting patiently with his hands folded. "So, what did you tell her?" James asked curiously, his face half hidden by the slump of his shoulder.   
  
"I said there was a change in Harry's status and that we were going for a quick check. And could she hold down the fort for a bit," Remus relayed.   
  
James chuckled quietly, "I don't know how you do it. If I told her the same thing everyone would have come, including the house elves."   
  
Remus clasped James' shoulder, "It'll be alright."   
  
"I hope so, Remus," James said, sounding more weary than ever.   
  
About fifteen minutes later Sirius was bodily hauled out of the ward by a large nurse who probably had a giant for an ancestor, followed quietly by an embarrassed Peter carrying a lovely, elaborate flower arrangement. "The next time you're here unsupervised I'm fire calling the Aurors." She dumped him in a chair in the corner and returned to the ward without a backward glance.   
  
Sirius, groaning and rubbing his neck, stalked over to Remus and James, "Bloody woman," he grumbled.   
  
"You are lucky she really didn't fire call the Aurors," Peter said in a steady, anger laced voice. He placed the flowers on the chair opposite himself. "These were given by the Weasleys," he told James, "but the nurse said they can't be in the room anymore."   
  
"I didn't mean to nock over that cart," Sirius whined.   
  
For a moment it looked like Peter was going to snipe right back, but he sighed and carded a hand through his thinning hair. "Dammit Sirius..."   
  
James picked up the card that had been stuffed in between the stems, "It was very nice of them, but I didn't think Arthur would send such a ... large one though." He read the card thoughtfully.   
  
"Did you find anything useful?" asked Remus.   
  
"You were right," answered Peter, "They're here to investigate, interviewing the nurses and aids for the most part."   
  
"Avery's just poking his wand about," grumbled Sirius. He was sulking.   
  
"Mr. Potter?" Dr. Burke had appeared. He stood a few feet from James with an air of tense professionalism.   
  
James put the card back, "Are we allowed to see Harry now?"   
  
"Yes," he put up his hand when all four men stood, "but only one other man can come with you. Harry's condition is stable, but still too delicate for too many visitors." The good doctor took a moment to glare at Sirius.   
  
James noticed, "Come with me, Remus?"   
  
Together the two followed Dr. Burke into the ward, listening to his instructions and warnings. They only had ten minutes.   
  
Even then James wasn't prepared to experience it. The room reeked of medicinal magic, perpetually hanging in the air like a dusty hazy. It clung to his robes and left a tangy taste in his mouth. In the center of it all was a bed with a small looking teenager strung up like a gruesome marionette. Harry's shoulder was in a muggle cast and elevated. His head bandaged and neck stabilized. Everywhere, muggle and magic mixed together in a wretched effort to preserve the boy's life.   
  
"Some of the wounds have opened again," Dr. Burke told him quietly. "They will heal again and we expect a full recovery. However…"   
  
"What?" James sank into the chair in the corner of the room. It had never been returned to the bedside.   
  
"There might be some lingering effects. We aren't sure what was used, but there might be brain damage compounded by the head injury, poison, and lack of oxygen for an extended period."   
  
"I supposed it will all be sorted out once he wakes up then," Remus looked pointedly at the Doctor.   
  
"_If_ he wakes up," Dr. Burke corrected.   
  
James clenched his hands together so they wouldn't shake, "When- when can we take him home?"   
  
"Not for a while yet-"   
  
"If we hire a private nurse to over see his care?" asked James in a tight voice.   
  
"With a referral from you," Remus added.   
  
Dr. Burke considered it, "A week, maybe more. Once the wounds are closed and it's safe to move him. The anti-toxin is working much slower than we expected. The magical field that allowed for his rapid healing before also allowed for the poison to saturate his system. Traces may remain for months. You're son is very, very sick, Mr. Potter. I cannot allow you to move him out of the ward before his recovery is mapped out. I will personally look into a nurse for his care." When the other men assented to his proposal he said, "I will give you some privacy then," and left.   
  
"I always said that Harry would make me prematurely gray," James joked weakly. They silently watched Harry and his tenuous grasp on life. Someone had nearly succeeded in killing his son. Or perhaps did something close enough. His eldest son with Lily's eyes... James lifted his head for a deep breathe of air through his mouth as his stomach twisted up. God, he was going to be sick. "Remus, he can't stay here. I can't let him stay here."   
  
"Yes," Remus replied quietly from somewhere behind him, "But not yet. We'll talk to Dr. Burke about adding security to protect Harry. Perhaps Sirius can get one of his more sober buddies to sit in here?"   
  
"Yes, someone we can trust." James wondered if his werewolf friend could hear the desperation in his voice. He didn't say anything else and Remus didn't prompt him. They stayed until a nurse came to escort them out. Sirius was less than pleased about being kept out and Peter was unusually quiet. Still, the plans were made with the doctor's approval. A few minutes before they left the nurse who carried Sirius out of the ward was sitting unobtrusively in Harry's room, watching and waiting. Tomorrow that seat would be filled by one of Sirius' most trusted Auror buddies. "Basil owes me a favor anyway," Sirius said after the arrangement was made.   
  


---*---

  
  
On the other side of the universe things were no easier for Harry Evans-Potter. Once Ron shut the portrait, Harry tried to convince Ron that he didn't fancied Hermione. But from the way the conversation was going, he also had to explain that he wasn't overly-afraid of her either.   
  
"So, if she's you're girlfriend, _not mine_. Never was mine nor will ever be," Harry said carefully while Ron laughed at him, "Why was she acting like that? Like... like she acts around you sometimes?"   
  
"Hermione may be my girlfriend, but she's also one of your best friends here," Ron replied, amused.   
  
"Oh," Harry smirked, "And who's the other one?"   
  
"What?" Ron asked, aghast.   
  
"Kidding," Harry grinned.   
  
"Oh very funny," he huffed.   
  
"Funny is how I look now," Harry pulled at his hair, "I look like such a dork(*)." Ron only laughed nervously and Harry didn't continue.   
  
There was another, persistent question that Harry had to fend off. For the third time Ron asked, "Anything unusual for you here?"   
  
"That suit of armor used to wear a ballet tutu, stand in the Tondue position to try and trip people," Harry deadpanned.   
  
"Really?" Ron's face lit up.   
  
"No," Harry shook his head. "Ron, if there's anything important, I'll tell you. Right now it's just little things."   
  
Harry stopped in front of a tapestry. "Ron, like this here," he grabbed the back of Ron's robes, "I've never seen this tapestry in my life and I have no idea what it refers to."   
  
Ron only gave it a glance before saying, "The fall of Voldemort."   
  
"Oh, that guy again."   
  
Ron glared at him, "He's more than that."   
  
Harry stared at, trying to find its meaning. Obviously the dark specter to the left was Voldemort. There was a crouching, robed figure to the left. Harry thought it might be a woman. Judging from the stiff posture and white threads, she was dead. In the center there was what looked like a butterfly cocoon. Only butterflies don't get halos of light and float in the air when they emerge. Harry looked back to the black-cloaked figure, minutely shrinking away from the bundle of light. "It's allegorical," Harry suggested, then looked at Ron.   
  
Ron knew he had heard Hermione use that word more than once, "It's you."   
  
Harry, shocked, looked back at the tapestry with renewed interest. It wasn't a huge work compared to others that covered the walls in the winter, only covering a small stretch of space. Most of the tapestries that hung year-round were largely generic. For the winter, and especially Christmas, some of the more elaborate tapestries grace the walls of Hogwarts. They gave back some of the color and life lost to the winter nights and bleak surroundings. When it was first made it must have been prominently displayed. However, now it was like any other. He shrugged off the idea that the other Harry was some demi-god. It wasn't possible. It was only artistic license run amuck.   
  
"The kitchens are still behind the fruit still-life, right?" Harry asked. Ron nodded and they continued on.   
  
In the kitchen he was _attacked_ by a house-elf (ok, it was more like a super-hug). As a result he lay sprawled near the door with a jubilant house-elf on his lap. "Harry Potter has come to visit Dobby! Dobby is so happy Harry Potter is safe!" Harry blinked owlishly at the creature while Ron laughed.   
  
After escaping that there was a near miss with Filch. Then, just when he thought he was safe in the common room, Hermione presented him with a huge pile of books to read.   
  
"I thought you got that for a bit of _light_ reading," Ron said around a mouthful of pastry.   
  
"Harry," she said breathlessly, "You need to know what differences there are between the worlds." She pushed a well-worn copy of _Hogwarts, a History_ toward him urgently. "Who knows what kind of blunders you could make!"   
  
"You're confidence in me is astounding..." he muttered in turn, pushing the book away with a sticky finger.   
  
"It will be easier now, with most of the students being home for the holidays. Once they're back you'll have to deal with every nuance of our world. Even the most minute differences can be trouble," she lectured.   
  
Harry sort of turned her out at "nuance", remembering once when Rose was very little she yelled at him for using such big words she didn't know. Things may be different here, he thought, but Hermione still knew how to preach about learning and proper study.   
  
Harry leaned toward Ron, "Does she still color code out finals schedule?" Ron nodded and rolled his eyes.   
  
It took Hermione a moment to stop, "Especially the last twenty years- Ron!" she glared.   
  
"What?"   
  
She opened a book and began the leaf through it. "If you had the same enthusiasm for learning your lessons are you do for memorizing quidditch stats, you could both do so much better!"   
  
Harry and Ron exchanged a knowing look. Some things will never change.   
  
"Harry," Hermione asked suddenly, "Tell me the names of all the Gryffindor boys in our year."   
  
"Seamus Finnigan, Dean Thomas, Neville Longbottom, Russell Thickey, Ron and me," he rattled off in a sure voice.   
  
"Who's Russell Thickey?" asked Ron.   
  
Before Harry could answer Hermione asked, "And the girls?"   
  
"Diana Bragge, Girtrude Wimble, Margaret Peasgood, Lavendar Brown, Parvati Patil, and you, Hermione."   
  
"Harry, there are only three Gryfindor fifth year girls here. There has never been a Diana Bragge," Hermione said solemnly.   
  
"And I've never heard of a Russell Thickey," Ron said, "Or any other Thickey in any year."   
  
"I think," Hermione flipped a page or two in her book, "That these other students would be here if Voldemort didn't exist."   
  
"It's more than possible," Ron said quietly, "You-Know-Who took out whole families when he had the chance."   
  
Absolutely shocked, Harry sank into the couch. "So that's four missing Gryffindors, then?" He'd dated Peasegood back in fourth year, she was a decent girl. And Thickey. How many detentions did he serve with that kid trying to blow up each other's cauldrons in Potions? They couldn't stand one another, but not all the memories were bad.   
  
"Or additions, depending on how you look at it," Hermione answered, "I'm sorry they're not here, though."   
  
He waved at her dismissively, "As my uncle says repeatedly, 'This is but a brief respite.' I'll see them again when I'm home."   
  
He could feel Hermione watching him, observing and calculating, "I wonder what Harry is doing for Christmas."   
  
Shrugging, "Probably spending the afternoon with my friends and relations," Harry replied.   
  
Hermione smiled sadly, "That must be so nice for him, even if it is rather bittersweet."   
  
"Oh... I'd forgotten," Harry pushed himself upright. "There isn't, by chance, a Rose Potter in second year, is there."   
  
"No. Did – Do you have siblings?"   
  
"Yes, two. I always thought they were annoying, but I thought they'd always be around too..." he trailed off, staring at the crumpled wrappings of the candy, "I've met your Sirius and Remus... they're different."   
  
They continued to talk until dinner. Hermione carried her _Hogwarts, A History_, trying to get Harry to read it. He refused. At dinner there was a bit of chaos over the return of the Boy-Who-Lived, but with less than a quarter of the students remaining for the holidays, it was short lived.   
  
Harry looked up and down the table shared by all the students and teachers for the Christmas holiday. _I can handle this_, he thought confidently.   
  


* * *

  
  
(*) – If someone can tell me the British equivalent of dork/geek, that'd be great. ^__^   
  
AN - Well, Kate, it's Saturday. Not too late, I hope? A hugmungous _Thank you_ to everyone who has left a review or emailed me. *grovel*   
  
One of the reasons I don't like chapter four is that I give Harry #2 more emotion than his character allows for so that it would dispell the feeling that he was cold and calous. I think I got his personality across better in this chapter. Not everyone liked the parody interlude, but others did. So we'll see what happens if review 200 ever comes. If you have a suggestion, tell me and I'll consider it.   
  
Some Q & A: Gilbert will come in later (and that's all I'm saying). His name is entirely made up (unlike the students in the chapter, went to the Lexion. The first names aren't canon though. Voldie's around. Harry isn't going to wake up yet. This chapter sets things up for the next (ah! Clues!) No, having Harry pose as Harry isn't a good idea, as we shall see. Snape will appear as well, in one form or another. Sirius wasn't being calm so much as seeing that James was flipping out. Ever have that with a close friend? You're both freaking, but you see your reaction in the other person? Eh, that was the idea. Harry number one will be sore and stiff, just as any other person who has to get up after a long sleep. I tried writing under a tree once, it wasn't very comfortable. *Hides under her pillow pile* I've never been chased by a purple flying carpet before. o.o; Harry might be alrigth and he might get back to his orginal dimension. You guys really don't like #2, do you? Harry #1 will survive in one form or another. A Potter Person, it's not that I didn't feel like writing. It's that I didn't have the time, and when I did what I wrote was _baaaad_ (if I wrote at all). Ahh, it was a sucky year. We'll find out who wanted Harry #1 to die. I really don't want to have an 'evil person solioquy' because I don't like them. Not quite James, a harem, according to dictionary.com, is "place reserved for wives and concubines and female relatives in a Muslim household."   
  
  
Yes, I think that's everything. Anything you think is worth sharing, leave a review. If you want it answered quickly, email is faster. Thanks for sticking around! (I'll be much faster about the next one, though the earliest would be the begining of July. Travel, whee.) 


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